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WITH  THE  C0MPLI7AENTS 
<^J^  BEST  WISHES  OF  THE 
AUTHOR 


/k/~^ir-/t<r^  <-^ 


AUSTRALIA 


AND 


NEW  ZEALAND 

ILLUSTRATED 


By 

WILLIAM  D.  BOYCE 

AUTHOR    OF     ''united     STATES     COLONIES     AND    DEPENDENCIES/ 

AND  "illustrated  SOUTH  AMERICA."      PUBLISHER  OF 

''the  SATURDAY  BLADE,"   "CHICAGO  LEDGER'' 

AND    "lone   scout/' 


RAND  McNALLY  &  CO.MPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW   YORK 


COPVKIGHT,  1922 

BY 
W.  D.  BOYCE 


MADI-:  IN  U.  S.  A. 

RAND  McNAI.l.Y  PRKSS,  CHICAGO. 


-a_ 


CONTENTS 


AUSTRALIA 

PAGE 
A  LETTER  FROM   TKEMIER  HUGHES vii 

INTRODUCTION ix 

AUSTRALIA  PICTURED  BY  AN  AMERICAN       .  .             .            .  xiii 

I.  EARLY   HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALIA              ....  I 

II.  THE   COMMONWEALTH  OF  AUSTRALIA          .  .             .  1/ 

III.  -AGRICULTURE   AND   MINING       .             .  .             .             -33 

IV.  AUSTRALIAN    INDUSTRIES   AND  TRANSPORTATION         .  5 1 
V.  THE  STRANGEST  ANIMALS  IN  THE  WORLD            .             .  7I 

VI.  TASMANIA          ........  9I 

VII.  VICTORIA              .             .             .             .             .             .             .             .Ill 

VIII.  SOUTH    AUSTRALIA                .             .             .             .             .             ■  ^  37 

IX.  WESTERN  AUSTRALIA  AND  NORTHERN  TERRITORY       .  161 

X.       NEW   SOUTH   WALES I79 

XI.  QUEENSLAND                .......  2O5 


NEIV  ZEALAND 


INTRODUCTION  ...... 

A  LETTER  FROM    PREMIER  MASSEY         ... 
THROUGH  OTHER  EVES         ..... 

I.  EARLY   HISTORY  OF  THE  MAORIS 

II.  NATURAL    HISTORY WILD  GAME  AND   SPORTS 

III.  AGRICULTURE  IN    NEW   ZEALAND 

IV.  THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  LABOR 
V.  GOVERNMENT-OPERATED  INDUSTRIES 

\T.       THE  CITIES  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 
VII.       A  MEMORIAL  TO  CAPTAIN   SCOTT 


227 

235 
239 

285 

305 
321 

345 
374 


Tlie  Ripht  Honorable  William  Morris  HukIk's  is  the  Premier  of 
Australia.  He  is  an  able,  conscientious  man  of  unusual  ability  and  in- 
defatij^able  industry.  Born  in  Wales  in  1864,  he  went  to  Australia 
when  he  was  twenty  years  old,  with  nothing  much  but  determination 
and  jMior  health.  Jn  1894  he  was  elected  a  laI)or  representative  and 
his  political  career  has  been  a  succession  of  triumphs.  As  the  War 
Premier  he  showed  the  (lualities  and  courajije  of  a  true  statesman.  In 
Australia  they  call  him  "a  piece  of  political  radium."  The  United 
States,  thru  the  works  of  Henry  George,  contributed  to  the  Premier's 
political  philosophy  and  influenced  taxation  jiolicies  in  Australia.  The 
picture  presented  herewith  is  from  a  photograiih  of  a  bronze  I)iist  of 
the  Pretuier  made  by  Professor  Derwent  Wood,  distinguished  I'.ritisli 
sculptor  and  Royal  Academician. 


vi 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  AUSTRALIA 

Melbourne,  4lh  March,  1921 
Dear  Mr.  Boyce: 

In  extending  to  you  a  hearty  welcome  to  Austraha,  I 
desire  to  express  appreciation  of  your  object  in  visiting  the 
country.  We  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  the  l)ond  of  blood 
and  language  has  been  strong  enough  to  hold  the  United 
States  to  the  United  Kingdom,  despite  the  deliberate  machina- 
tions of  mutual  enemies.  Nor  can  we  forget  that  we  fought 
and  bled  together  in  the  greatest  war  of  all  time.  In  our  out- 
post of  the  British  Empire,  Australians  have  realised  to  the 
full  the  significance  of  this  mutual  regard. 

Not  only  to  us,  but  to  the  whole  world,  the  continued 
friendship  of  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  races  means  peace 
and  progress.  All  that  makes  for  a  closer  union  should  be 
encouraged,  and  anything  which  threatens  it  should  be  con- 
demned. We  in  Australia  look  to  the  sister  Democracy  of 
America  for  co-operation  in  problems  of  mutual  concern. 
Our  destiny,  like  the  destiny  of  your  Western  States,  lies  in 
the  Pacific.  On  the  shores  of  this  vast  ocean  are  gathered  the 
bulk  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  They  differ  in  language, 
ideals  and  religion.  The  rapid  modernisation  of  many  of 
these  peoples  may  increase  rather  than  diminish  the  problems 
which  inevitably  arise  where  peoples  of  different  races  con- 
gregate. 

So  we  feel  that  we — the  white  outpost  in  the  Pacific — may 
look  to  the  United  States  with  a  confidence  born  of  mutual 
ideals.  In  our  hands  lies  the  destiny  of  the  Pacific,  and  in 
our  common  task  lies  our  strongest  bond  of  friendship. 

Yours  faithfully. 


l/k^l-^ 


W.  D.  Boyce,  Esq., 

MELBOURNE  Prime  Minister 

Menzie's  Hotel 


This  is  a  suggestion  of  what  the  whilr  man  found  whrn  lif  dis- 
covered Auatrah'a.  Kvcry  whim  and  fancy  of  Nature  found  expression 
in  the  physical  aspects  of  the  country,  l-'orests  of  troi)ical  luxuriance, 
vast  stretches  of  harren  deserts,  sterile  mountains  and  valleys  rich  in 
verdure,  and  in  the  midst  of  this,  tlie  i)rimitive  hl;ick fellow — w.iiting 
for  the  white  man's  magic. 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

PRIOR  to  my  departure  for  Australia,  one  evening  at  the 
Union  League  Club  in  Chicago,  I  asked  three  business 
men — men  known  for  their  business  sagacity  and  intelligence — 
what  they  knew  about  the  Lonely  Continent.  Two  of  them 
frankly  admitted  their  ignorance,  and  the  third  said : 

"Australia?  Why,  that's  where  they  raise  kangaroos  and 
Anzacs.  Both  of  them  will  light  like  h — 1  if  you  get  them  in 
a  corner !" 

The  only  book  on  Australia  I  found  in  this  same  club's 
big  library  was  published  the  year  I  was  born.  Australia  is  a 
friend  of  the  United  States ;  she  wants  the  United  States  to  be 
her  friend.  Men  who  share  the  dangers  of  the  bush,  the  desert 
and  lonely  mountains,  who  today  divide  the  last  jug  of  water, 
even  tho  they  know  tomorrow  they  may  die  of  thirst,  are 
full  brothers  of  the  pioneer  stock  of  the  United  States.  More 
than  any  other  country,  with  the  exception  of  Canada,  Australia 
is  producing  a  breed  of  men  of  that  virile,  resourceful  type 
which  dominated  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  our  Civil 
War.  The  philosophy  of  democracy  developed  in  Australia 
is  not,  in  any  substantial  particular,  unlike  the  philosophy  of 
democracy  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  travel  in  almost  every  country  in 
the  world,  and,  weighing  my  words,  I  say  that  nowhere  have  I 
been  extended  a  more  cordial  welcome  than  in  Australia.  I 
do  not  flatter  myself  that  this  was  intended  as  a  personal  com- 
pliment ;  rather  I  am  sure  it  was  evidence  of  this  cordial 
eagerness  to  show  the  United  States,  thru  consideration  for 
her  visiting  citizens,  every  reasonable  respect  and  kindly  feel- 
ing. Officials  of  the  states  and  the  Commonwealth  went  out 
of  their  way  to  entertain  me  and  make  available  to  me  govern- 
ment records  and  information  which  otherwise  I  could  not 
have  collected  in  a  long  time.  Knowing  that  the  Australian 
government,  dominated  by  the  Labor  party,  is  attempting 
some  radical  things,  I  improved  this  contact  w'ith  various 
officials  frankly  to  discuss  these  policies.  In  subsequent  pages 
I  deal  with  some  of  these  experiments.  The  Commonwealth  and 

ix 


X  INTRODUCTION 

states  will  try  anything  once.  They  are  not  afraid  of  a  new  idea. 

These  experiments  in  Austraha's  poHtical  laboratory  are 
further  justification  of  our  getting  acquainted  with  her.  We 
may  profit  by  her  experience. 

Everywhere  the  newspapers  sought  me  for  interviews.  The 
Queensland  Press  Institute,  of  which  ^Nlr.  \\'.  Farmer  W'hyte 
was  president,  entertained  me  in  Brisbane.  Both  the  president 
and  Brigadier-General  Spencer  Browne  in  introducing  me  com- 
mented on  the  things  Australia  and  America  had  in  common 
and  showed  the  most  friendly  feeling  toward  the  United  States. 
I  told  the  newspaper  men  something  about  our  problems  and 
what  we  were  thinking  in  these  days  of  readjustment,  and 
every  paper  in  Brisbane  made  copy  of  my  talk ! 

Much  the  same  thing  happened  in  Sydney.  I  was  invited 
to  be  the  guest  of  the  Institute  of  Journalists  at  a  luncheon. 
The  presiding  officer  called  on  me  for  remarks.  Every  word 
I  uttered  found  its  way  into  the  press  stories.  They  were 
good  sports,  too.  I  wore  my  Sons  of  American  Revolution 
badge  and  "kidded"  them  about  my  representing  thirteen  Brit- 
ish colonies  while  they  represent  only  six. 

Invariably  newspaper  men  wanted  to  know  about  our 
international  policies  and  what  we  were  doing  with  our  do- 
mestic problems.  They  wanted  to  know  what,  as  an  American, 
I  thought  of  Australia,  its  past,  present  and  its  future. 
Mr.  R.  McMillan  is  "'I'he  Gossip"  for  the  Stock  and  Station 
Journal,  published  in  Sydney.  By  virtue  of  having  been  in  the 
United  States  for  many  years  he  is  doing  much  to  give  the 
Australian  public  the  right  slant  on  his  American  cousins. 
C.  Brunsdon  Fletcher,  editor  of  the  Sydney  Herald  and  dean 
of  the  Australian  press,  has  written  three  wonderful  books  on 
the  Troblcms  of  the  Pacific,  which  sliould  be  in  every  ])ublic 
library  in  the  United  States. 

In  area,  Australia  is  ])raclically  tlic  size  of  the  United 
States.  Its  natural  rcsouiTo  arc  al)un(laiil.  Ulinialic  condi- 
tions are  favorable  to  a  more  diversified  agricultural  and 
horticultural  activity  than  is  ])ossible  in  the  United  States. 
Most  of  the  <M-eat  dese'rl  districts  in  Auslralia  t'an  \)c  rtHlainn,(l 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

for  productive  use.  Today  the  country  has  5,ooo.chx)  people, 
exclusive  of  the  aboriginal  tribes.  She  has  established,  and, 
I  believe,  never  will  and  never  should  change  from  a  "white" 
policy.  A  century  hence  Australia  is  likely  to  have  a  pure 
white  nation,  surpassing  the  present  mixed  population  of  the 
United  States. 

But  with  5,000,000  inhabitants  established,  for  the  most 
part  in  the  coastal  regions,  vast  stretches  of  the  interior  prac- 
tically are  uninhabited  except  by  savage  and  seiui-civilized 
tribes.  My  good  friend,  the  Rev.  John  Flynn,  superintendent 
of  the  Australian  Inland  Mission,  a  man  who  is  devoting  his 
life  to  the  material  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  pioneers,  some- 
times uses  an  airplane  for  making  calls.  He  was  making  a 
vigorous  campaign,  while  I  was  in  Australia,  for  "flying  doc- 
tors." His  idea  was  to  establish  medical  posts  on  the  frontiers 
from  which  doctors,  with  the  use  of  planes,  might  care  for 
the  men  and  the  occasional  woman,  stricken  by  disease  or  acci- 
dent in  the  far-out  desert  districts.  If  doctors  had  to  use 
airplanes  for  their  calls  in  the  United  States  we  would  feel 
that  our  population  was  fairly  well  scattered,  to  say  the  least. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  in  the  back  of  the  beyond  districts  of 
Australia  there  is  no  white  population  except  the  daring  pros- 
pector and  explorer.  If  there  is  an  accident  or  illness,  no  help 
is  available.  If  there  is  death  there  is  no  ceremony  or  clergy. 
It  was  Dr.  Flynn  who  told  me  the  story  of  the  prospecting 
party  that  got  into  the  far-out  country  when  one  of  its  mem- 
bers died.  There  was  no  wood  for  a  coffin  and  no  preacher 
for  a  funeral  service.  A  grave  was  scooped  out  of  the  sand 
and  the  body  placed  in  it,  but  the  companions  of  the  dead  man 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  cover  the  body  without  a  prayer 
or  a  hymn.  None  knew  a  prayer  and  none  remembered  a 
hymn.  Finally  one  fellow  said  he  did  remember  a  song,  and 
when  his  comrades  insisted  that  he  sing  it,  because  any  kind 
of  a  song  was  better  than  none,  he  sang,  "For  He  Was  a  Jolly 
Good  Fellow." 

Political,  economic  and  racial  considerations  dictate  the  wis- 
dom of  establishing  intimate  contact  with  this  aggressive  nation, 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

and  in  writing  this  book  I  have  endeavored  to  make  a  modest 
contribution  to  better  understanding  of  the  far-away  Con- 
tinent of  the  Pacific  by  the  white  races  of  the  world.  My  work 
in  this  field  makes  no  pretension  to  historical  completeness.  It 
is,  rather,  the  notes  of  a  newspaper  reporter,  calculated  to  help 
one  group  of  humans  to  better  know  and  understand  another 
group.  Nevertheless,  I  had  a  definite  object  in  view  all  the 
time,  the  same  as  I  had  in  my  books  on  South  America  and 
the  United  States  Colonies. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me  either  to  express  to  the 
officials  of  the  Australian  Commonwealth,  Australian  states, 
and  to  the  many  private  citizens  and  the  newspaper  fraternity 
my  deep  appreciation  of  their  hospitality  and  co-operation,  or 
to  convey  to  the  reader  an  adequate  impression  of  the  cordial 
character  of  the  receptions  tendered  me  everywhere  I  went. 
I  can,  however,  acknowledge  the  debt  and  agree  to  pay  it  on 
the  installment  {)lan  by  improving  every  occasion  to  encourage 
closer  relations  between  Australia  and  America.  The  follow- 
ing pages  will.  1  trust,  impress  the  reader  as  a  worth-while 
payment  on  this  obligation. 

W.  D.  BOYCE. 


V  r-^ 


HarvcMliiiK  wlicat  in  South  Australia.     ICacli  inadiiiic  culs,  lll^a^^lK■.-^  and 
sacks  the  gram  as  it  goes. 


AUSTRALIA  PICTURED  BY  AN  AMERICAN. 

(from    the    SYDNEY    MORNING    HERALD.) 

MR.  W.  D.  BOYCE  of  Chicago,  one  of  the  prominent  fig- 
ures in  the  newsi)aj)er  world,  has  been  in  Austraha  for 
three  months,  and  liis  ini])ressions  of  us  as  a  people  are  very 
interesting.  These  impressions  he  proposes  to  embody  in  a 
series  of  articles  in  the  newspapers  which  he  controls,  and  to 
publish,  later,  in  book  form.  Mr.  Boyce's  son  (Mr.  Ben  S. 
Boyce),  who  is  associated  with  his  father  in  journalism,  is 
simultaneously  visiting  Papua  and  the  former  German  terri- 
tory in  New  Guinea,  in  order  to  study  first-hand  the  country 
over  which  the  Commonwealth  has  now  mandatory  control. 

His  extensive  travels,  not  merely  through  Australia,  but 
in  Africa,  South  America  and  other  parts  abroad,  and  his  wide 
outlook  on  aft'airs,  eminently  fit  Mr.  W.  D.  Boyce  to  speak  as 
a  competent  observer  of  those  things  which  have  made  appeal 
to  him  in  Australia. 

Mr.  Boyce,  who  has  covered  about  2,000  miles  in  Australia, 
by  motor,  and  who  has  visited  every  State,  thinks  the  Aus- 
tralian people  are  the  frankest  people  he  has  ever  met.  They 
compliment  themselves,  he  says,  less  than  the  people  of  any 
other  nation  which  he  knows  of  first-hand.  They  not  only 
magnify  the  little  things  which  they  think  are  likely  to  hurt 
them  as  a  nation  and  a  people,  seeing  them  as  through  a  glass 
darkly,  but  they  are  apt  to  be  so  blind  to  many  of  their  virtues 
as  to  allow  them  to  speak  for  themselves,  instead  of  the  peo])le 
themselves  trumpeting  them  throughout  the  world. 

The  interviewer  asked  Mr.  Boyce  for  a  thumbnail  impres- 
sion of  the  picture  that  he  is  taking  back  with  him.  His  train 
of  thoughts  is,  in  brief,  something  like  this.  The  United  States, 
first  of  all,  knows  nothing  of  this  young  nation  with  whom  it 
has  so  many  identical  interests.  Australia,  Mr.  Boyce  is  going 
to  tell  America,  and  an  even  wider  audience,  through  his  book, 
has  within  it,  after  working  out  its  problems,  all  the  constitu- 
ents of  a  wonderfully  successful  race.  "There  are  only  two 
classes  of  people  in  the  world,"  remarks  Mr.  Boyce — "the  pro- 


xiv  SYDNEY  HERALD  REPRINT 

ducer  and  the  non-producer — and  Australia,  in  proportion  to 
its  population,  has  a  larger  percentage  of  producers  than  per- 
haps any  part  of  the  world.  One  of  the  best  things  that  could 
happen  to  Australia  would  be  to  find  her  Commonwealth  and 
state  governments  cut  ofif  from  over-sea  loan  moneys.  I  mean 
it,  for  it  would  compel  her  to  think  more  of  the  development 
on  broad  lines  of  her  wonderful  resources.  If  you  cannot  live 
on  a  country  when  it  is  new  and  rich,  like  this  fair  land,  how 
are  you  going  to  live  on  it  when  it  is  old  ? 

"Your  scanty  population  of  five  millions  or  more  people  is 
something  of  a  nightmare  to  Australia,  seemingly,  but  think  of 
your  future.  Right  down  the  corridor  of  time,  unless  you  swerve 
from  your  White  Australia  policy,  in  which  lies  largely  your 
safety,  you  are  going  to  be  of  pure  white  British  stock.  The  dif- 
ference between  your  births  and  your  deaths  is  2  per  cent,  per 
annum  in  Australia.  It  works  out  this  way  :  Even  if  you  did  not 
get  a  single  immigrant,  you  would  have  ten  millions  of  people 
in  30  years,  20  millions  in  60  years.  40  millions  in  90  years, 
and  50  millions  in  a  century,  through  natural  growth — as  many 
people  as  we  had  in  America  in  a  century.  And  that  50  millions 
of  people  you  can  feed  and  take  care  of  because  you  have  the 
resources,  under  wise  development  and  prudent  government. 
Australia,  producing  the  same  that  we  do,  has  an  immense  area, 
which  a])pears  to  have  been  only  scratched  on  the  surface." 

"I  have  wanted  to  understand  the  merino  wool  and  the 
sheep  (|uestion  in  Australia,"  Mr.  Boyce  proceeded  to  say, 
"and  how  it  is  that  you  can  raise  such  fine  grades  of  cattle  so 
near  the  equator.  As  a  rule,  graded-up  cattle  cannot  be  raised 
near  the  equator;  but  you  do  raise  them  here  very  largely,  ap- 
parently, because  of  the  drier  climate.  Our  best  meat  is  i)r()- 
duced  by  fattening  with  corn  after  the  cattle  have  come  off  the 
grass,  because  there  is  a  large  part  of  the  L'niied  ."stales,  and 
of  Canada  also,  where  the  winter  months  are  of  such  duralion 
and  severity  that  the  cattle  for  tlic  time  l)eing  lia\e  to  l)c  stall- 
fed.  It  is  one  of  \-our  ad\antages  over  us,  this  wonderful 
climate  of  Australia." 

TJic  conversation  uilii  this  engaging  Americ;in  i)cr.s()nality 


The  picture  shows  the  dense  growth  of  ferns  in  a  eucalyptus  for- 
est. No  other  country  is  so  rich  in  ferns  as  Australia.  Plant  life 
which  long  since  disappeared  in  other  countries,  survives  and  flourishes 
in  Australia. 

XV 


xvi  SYDNEY  HERALD  REPRINT 

turned  to  the  industrial  and  the  pohtical  hfe  of  Austraha.  The 
subject  was  introduced,  not  by  Mr.  Boyce.  but  by  the  inter- 
viewer; but  it  is  just  one  of  those  directions  in  which  Mr. 
Boyce  thinks  Austraha  is  too  apt  to  make  a  lot  of  the  little 
things  that  irritate  it.  For  it  is  his  impression  that,  although 
men  get  into  high  places  in  Australia  with  the  backing  of 
Labour,  they  have  been  men  big  enough,  and  wide  and  broad 
enough  in  outlook  to  realise  that  there  are  two  sides  to  a  ques- 
tion. He  instances,  for  example,  the  Prime  Minister  (Mr. 
Hughes),  whose  place,  he  feels,  Australia  would  find  it  difficult 
to  fill,  although  it  is  inclined  to  criticise  him.  There  are  three 
fundamental  qualities  about  Mr.  Hughes  which  impress  our 
visitor.  They  are  his  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose,  his 
deep  sense  of  loyalty  and  lofty  patriotism,  and  his  marked 
ability.  Then  there  is  Mr.  Theodore,  the  Premier  of  Queens- 
land. The  responsibilities  of  office  have  brought  with  them  a 
realisation  on  his  part  that  there  are  two  sides  to  a  case.  And 
so  with  others.  With  such  men,  and  with  a  patriotism  such  as 
it  manifested  during  the  war,  Mr.  Boyce  feels  that  Australia 
will  always  rise  superior  to  the  extremist  element,  which  occa- 
sionally froths  and  bubbles.  There  was  the  reported  absence 
of  flags  on  the  chief  civic  hall  on  .\nzac  Day.  It  was.  in  his 
opinion,  one  of  the  best  things  that  could  happen  in  Australia, 
because  of  the  lessons  which  it  must  drive  home.  1  he  basic 
sound  sense  of  the  British  stock  in  this  country  will  linall\'  win 
through,  in  Mr.  Boyce's  opinion.  : 

"You  can  size  up  Australia's  position  very  closely  with  the 
aid  of  figures,"  says  Mr.  Boyce.  "Twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
Australia  is  as  good  as  any  25  per  cent,  we  lia\c  in  America. 
Twenty-five  per  cent,  of  your  country,  again,  is  as  i)oor  as 
the  jxjorest  25  i)er  cent,  we  have:  and  50  ])cr  cent,  of  your 
country  is  medium  poor  where  50  per  cent,  of  our  country  is 
medium  good.  That  is  the  only  difi"erence  between  the  two 
countries  as  far  as  the  sustaining  of  life  is  concerned.  But 
your  climate  is  ^o  nuu-Ji  l)rltcT  than  ours,  it  costs  less  to  live 
and  to  produce  your  meat  and  \our  grain  here.  In  these  re- 
spects, you  will  always  have  an  advantage  over  any  other  place 


SVDNIIV  HER  A  J  J)  REPRINT  xvii 

in  the  world,  and  you  will,  therefore,  live  cheai)er  than  any 
other  country,  as  you  do  now." 

The  Australian  cities,  it  appears  to  Mr.  Boyce,  have  ex- 
panded at  the  ex])ense  of  the  country.  "In  this  country,"  he 
reminds  us,  "60  per  cent,  of  your  people  live  in  the  cities  and 
towns  of  over  10,000  population  ;  while  in  our  country  only  30 
per  cent,  of  our  population  lives  in  the  cities.  We  have  found 
the  big  cities  complaining  of  being  held  down  and  taxed  for 
our  country  districts,  which  send  two-thirds  of  our  members 
to  the  State  and  Federal  parliaments.  In  Australia,  the  posi- 
tion is  reversed.  The  country  appears  to  feel  that  the  city  is 
fattening  on  it,  so  to  speak.  There  is  a  movement  now  in  the 
United  States  to  incorporate  into  separate  states  half-a-dozen 
of  the  larger  cities.  Australia,  I  believe,  will  always  experience 
the  rumblings  of  dissatisfaction  until  she  has  smaller  and  more 
states,  permitting  of  better  representation  for  the  agricultural 
and  manufacturing  interests.  Both  the  big  cities  and  the 
country  will  feel  that  legislation  is  discriminatory  as  long  as 
they  are  tied  together  too  closely." 

Discussing  arbitration,  Mr.  Boyce  said  collective  bargaining 
had  brought  to  the  American  wage-earner  the  best  working 
conditions  and  lighest  salaries  paid  in  the  world.  In  Mr. 
Gompers,  Ameiican  Labour  had  a  very  sane  leader.  The 
unions  realised  that  they  could  be  successful  only  if  the  manu- 
facturers were  successful,  because  it  was  obviously  only  with 
successful  operations  that  they  could  furnish  good  conditions 
and  wages.  The  result  was  a  spirit  of  cooperation  between 
employees  and  employers.  Capital  had  never  been  afraid  to 
invest  in  the  United  States ;  but  from  what  he  had  been  able 
to  gather,  it  had  been  afraid  to  invest  in  Australia — without 
justification,  he  believed,  for  it  appeared  to  him,  as  he  had 
already  pointed  out,  that  the  men  who  finally  got  to  the  top 
in  Australia  were  not  the  rabid  element.  Socialism,  therefore, 
appeared  to  be  more  of  a  bogey  than  a  reality,  and  the  capi- 
talist was  scared  more  than  he  was  actually  hurt. 


Contrary  to  popular  notions,  Australia  has  its  wintry  landscapes, 
as  this  picture  of  tiie  Tasmanian  coast  in  winter  shows.  Many  persons 
think  of  Australia  as  a  land  of  deserts  and  jungles.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  the  continent  has  much  wonderful  mountain  scenery  and  its  cli- 
mate ranges  from  tropical  heat  to  antartic  cold.  Some  of  the  mountains 
are  perpetually  snow  covered,  and  some  of  the  glaciers  tempt  and  test 
hfith  amateur  and  professional   mountain  climbers. 


AUSTRALIA 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  AUSTRALIA 

AUSTRALIA  of  today  is  a  "white  man's  country" — the 
live  milHon  white  Austrahans  call  themselves  natives— 
and  yet  no  discussion  of  the  "Lonely  Continent"  could  hope  to 
be  complete  or  accurate  or  give  any  true  picture  of  its  present 

or  its  future  unless  it  took  into 
account  its  long  past,  which  for 
the  most  part  can  only  be  sur- 
mised. To  study  that  past  means 
to  study  the  aborigine,  the  black- 
fellow,  of  whom  a  bare  fifty 
thousand  remain. 

Possibly  some  day  scientists 
will  prove  where  they  now  only 
assert  that  Australia  is  the  oldest 
land  surface  in  the  world,  or 
has  changed  less  than  others. 
Geologic  evidence  goes  to  show 
that  it  had  its  beginning  in 
the  dawn-mist  of  the  earth's 
morning.  Biologic  evidence  of 
the  country's  antiquity  is  not 
lacking,  either.  The  animal  and 
plant  life  is  peculiar  to  Australia. 
Primitive  forms  which  are  found 
nowhere  else  on  earth  today  still 
thrive  there.  Such  unique  types 
as  the  kangaroo,  the  emu,  and 
the  platypus,  the  only  egg-laying 
mammal,  date  to  a  period  long 
before  the  coming  of  man.  Faint  resemblances  of  the  curious 
animals  and  plants  to  fossil  forms  found  in  other  quarters  of 


Australian  natives  with  a  dug-out 
canoe  which  typifies  the  acme  of  their 
inventive  genius. 


AUSTRALIA 


the  globe  indicate  that  at  some  remote  period  Austraha  was 
isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  then  land  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  that  until  comparatively  recent  years  there  was  absolutely 
no  intercourse. 

Just  how  far  back  the  aborigines  date,  no  scientist  is  pre- 
pared to  state  with  any  certainty.  All,  however,  are  agreed 
that  the  bushman.  or  blackfellow,  as  he  is  more  commonly 


Like  "Topsy"  in  "Uncle  Ti'iii's  (";il)in"  tlic  ahoriginal  baby  in 
Australia  "just  grows."  The  Ijlack  nioUier  knows  nothing  of  eugenics. 
In  spite  of  the  government's  effort  to  protect  these  al)origines  they  do 
not  survive  the  processes  of  civilization. 


EARLY  HISTORY 


The  blackfellow  knows  nothing  of  a  permanent  abode.  A  hut  or 
cave,  to  shield  him  from  the  sun  and  rain,  is  all  he  wants.  For  cen- 
turies these  natives  roamed  in  tribes,  knowing  nothing  of  farming. 
The  only  animal  they  domesticated  was  the  wild  dog,  known  as  the 
dingo.  This  is  a  typical  native  family  on  the  front  porch  of  their 
bungalow. 


called,  is  the  most  primitive  of  human  kinci.  The  early  view 
that  he  was  degenerate  is  hardly  proved ;  he,  like  all  hlack  men, 
has  not  developed.  He  has  stood  still  since  the  dawn  of  his- 
tory— indeed,  he  has  no  .history,  no  tradition  worthy  of  the 
name.  No  stories  of  his  origin  save  highly  fanciful  and  com- 
paratively modern  fabrications  have  been  found.  There  are 
no  family  traditions,  even,  which  date  back  more  than  a  few 
generations. 

A  few  ethnologists  have  tried  to  establish  a  relationship 
between  the  blackfellows  and  the  Indians  of  South  America. 
Other  scientists  point  out  that  if  Australia  ever  was  connected 
with  the  American  continent   it  must  have  been  long  before 


4  AUSTRALIA 

there  could  have  been  any  possibility  of  human  occupancy,  as 
there  is  no  trace  of  similarity  in  the  animal  life. 

There  are  writers  who  regard  the  blackfellow  of  mixed 
Papuan  and  Malay  blood.  That  a  relationship  exists  between 
them  and  the  ancient  Dravidians  of  India  is  the  contention 
of  others,  who  regard  as  the  connecting  link  the  picture  of 
a  red  right  hand  daubed  on  rocks  in  various  parts  of  Aus- 
tralia, the  red  hand  being  the  symbol  of  Siwi,  the  "Avenger," 
or  "Destroyer,"  mentioned  in  Hindu  lore. 

Certain  it  is,  however,  that  wherever  the  aboriginals  came 
from  in  the  first  place,  there  was  no  further  intercourse.  After 
that  first  migration — if  such  it  was — the  land  was  cut  oflf  from 
all  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  just  as  for  un- 
told centuries  it  had  been  cut  off  from  the  changing  world 
of  trees  and  plants,  of  fish  and  fowl  and  furred  and  feathered 
animal  life.  The  flora  and  fauna  of  Australia  today  hark 
back  to  prehistoric  ages  known  elsewhere  only  in  fossil  form. 
Giant  ferns  grow  in  its  forests  today  such  as  flourished  else- 
where before  the  age  of  coal.  Gigantic  varieties  of  eucalyptus 
— gums,  the  Australians  call  them — tower  high  in  the  air  as 
they  did  in  the  hot,  steamy  days  before  the  glacial  period. 
The  changes  which  went  on  in  the  rest  of  the  world  seem 
not  to  have  disturbed  Australia — it  has  worked  out  its  own 
destiny  in  seclusion.  Its  popular  name,  "The  Lonely  Con- 
tinent," has  been  honestly  earned. 

So  when  we  study  the  Australia  that  the  first  white  ex- 
plorers found  we  are  examining  the  Australia  that  was  in  the 
beginning.  Its  history  is  unique  in  that  there  is  none.  Its 
animal  and  plant  life  are  unif|ue  in  that  they  are  to  be  found 
nowhere  else.  Its  first  inhabitants,  too — the  aborigines — are 
unique  in  that  some  scientists  insist  that  they  are  our  closest 
link  to  primitive  man.  I  doubt  this,  as  there  are  five  distinct 
colors  or  races.  The  Au.stralian  black  is  a  mongrel.  A  glimpse 
of  their  mode  of  life  and  curious  customs  is  both  interesting 
and  worth  while. 

Altho  the  aborigines  arc  called  black  fellows,  they  arc  more 
brown  than  black.    They  arc  unlike  negroes  in  that  their  hair 


EARLY  HISTORY 


is  not  woolly,  their  noses  not  so 
flat  and  their  lips  do  not  turn 
outward.  When  discovered  by 
the  white  men  they  had  not  risen 
to  the  use  of  metals,  and  the  only 
animal  they  had  succeeded  in  do- 
mesticating was  the  dingo,  or 
wild  dog.  They  roamed  the  con- 
tinent in  tribes,  living  by  hunting 
and  fishing,  tilling  no  fields  and 
having  no  houses  other  than 
crude  huts. 

It  was  a  sad  day  for  the 
aborigine  when  he  fell  into  the 
ways  of  the  white  man,  for 
which  an  all-wise  nature  had 
never  fitted  him,  for  it  marked 
the  first  stage  of  his  gradual  ex- 
tinction as  a  race.  Wearing 
clothes  was  the  first  step,  and  the 
vices  of  the  white  man  followed 
soon  after.  Before  long  the 
blackfellows  were  Jhe  victims 
of  the  same  old  ills  to  which 
the  white  is  heir.  Rheuma- 
tism and  pulmonary  diseases, 
if  not  entirely  new  complaints 
among  these  wild  children  of 
the  simplest  of  simple  life  in 
the  bush,  were  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  contact  with  the 
whites  and  the  changed  habits  to  which  that  contact  gave 
rise. 

Today  the  aborigine  as  a  race  is  dying  out.  It  is  regarded 
as  probable  that,  in  the  older  states  of  Australia  at  least,  there 
will  not  be  a  full-blooded  blackfellow  surviving  a  generation 
hence. 


The  aboriginal  youngster  gets  his 
breakfast.  Queensland  has  a  larger  abo- 
riginal population  than  any  other  Aus- 
tralian state.  Some  of  the  women  live 
with  Chinese,  but  this  doesn't  contribute 
to  their  popularity.  One  woman  was  or- 
dered by  her  tribe  to  decoy  her  Oriental 
husband  to  his  death.  She  called  him 
from  his  shack  and  he  was  at  once 
pierced  by  a  dozen  spears.  The  butts  of 
the  spears,  falling  to  the  ground,  held 
the  body  upright,  much  to  the  merriment 
of  the  natives,  that  being  the  aboriginal 
idea  of  a  good  joke. 


Here  are  two  "future-treats"  of  Australia's  aboriginal  society. 
They  stand  no  chance,  however,  of  growinj^  up  to  be  president  l)ccause 
the  Australian  "white  jjolicy"  precludes  such  a  i)ossil)iiily.  In  si)ite 
of  the  government's  best  efforts  the  mortality  rate  among  native  cliil- 
drcn  is  high  and  points  to  the  ultimate  extinction  of  the  blackfellow. 


EARLY  HISTORY  7 

Since  the  days  when  sturdy  Britishers  first  set  their  faces 
toward  this  land  of  promise  the  bushmen  have  found  them- 
selves gradually  swept  back  by  the  insistent  demands  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  old  hostilities  and  feuds  between  blacks  and  whites 
show  that  it  was  not  always  a  peaceful  penetration.  There 
are  blackfellows,  however,  in  the  interior  of  the  great  con- 
tinent who  even  today  have  never  seen  a  white  man — a  good 
thing,  perhaps,  for  while  there  are  many  instances  of  humane 
treatment  of  the  aboriginals  by  the  encroaching  whites,  certain 
types  of  whites  have  been  a  baneful  influence  in  their  lives. 
From  the  "far  out-back,"  as  the  wild  districts  are  called,  there 
occasionally  comes  the  story  of  a  tragedy  in  which  a  blackfel- 
low  is  one  of  the  central  figures.    More  often  than  not  a  woman 


Schools  for  .native  children  arc  niaintaincd  by  the  Australian 
government  and  various  mission  organizations.  While  some  scientists 
assert  that  the  blackfellow  of  Australia  is  the  lowest  order  of  the  hu- 
man race,  education  works  a  remarkable  improvement  in  the  children. 
This  picture  was  taken  at  the  Norcia  Mission  Station,  Western  Australia. 


8  AUSTRALIA 

is  in  the  case.  But  these  cases  are  becoming  fewer,  with  the 
estabhshment  of  close  reservations  and  with  government  boards 
and  missions  to  watch  over  and  care  for  the  blacks. 

Cannibalism  was  almost  universal  before  the  coming  of 
the  white  man.  It  is  not  wholly  a  thing  of  the  past  today 
among  the  wilder  tribes.  Not  long  ago,  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  from  Thursday  Island,  an  aboriginal  woman,  sixty  years 
of  age,  was  killed  and  eaten  by  an  old  blackfellow  on  the 
ground  that  she  was  a  nuisance.  Various  reasons  have  been 
given  by  the  aborigines  for  the  eating  of  human  flesh.  In 
some  cases  no  doubt  the  chief  reason  was  the  conservation  of 
food — primitive  Australia  was  a  land  of  frequent  short  rations. 
In  other  cases  the  eating  of  the  flesh  of  a  deceased  person 
was  a  part  of  the  ceremonial  of  burial  and  was  a  mark  of 
affection  and  respect.  In  many  tribes  where  this  was  the 
case  there  is  no  evidence  that  people  were  killed  for  the  pur- 
pose, not  even  captives  of  war. 

Some  tribes  admitted  frankly  that  they  liked  the  taste  of 
human  flesh — preferred  it,  in  fact,  to  that  of  the  pig,  which, 
I  might  mention,  is  not  a  native  of  Australia,  but  came  with 
the  early  white  settlers.  There  are  many  instances  where  the 
eating  of  one's  fallen  enemy  was  inspired  by  the  belief  that  the 
strength  of  the  victim  passed  on  to  the  one  who  made  a  feast 
of  him. 

I  found  tliat  where  this  practice  was  a  part  of  the  funeral 
rites  it  was  only  portions  of  the  body  which  were  eaten, 
an  arm  or  a  leg.  Other  parts  of  the  body  were  then  preserved 
and  carried  about  as  relics  or  charms.  Quite  frequently  the 
hand  of  a  dead  relative  would  be  worn  around  the  neck  as  an 
instrument  of  sorcery.  Mothers  would  carry  the  dead  bodies 
of  their  children,  even  in  a  putrefying  .state,  along  in  their 
wanderings.  Sometimes  this  task  was  imposed  as  a  penalty 
on  young  mothers  whose  children  had  died  as  the  result  of 
carelessness. 

The  practice  among  the  blackfellows  of  marriage  by  be- 
trothal— often  when  the  contracting  parties  are  infants — by 
elopement,  by    forcible  abduction,  by  capture   from   another 


EARLY  HISTORY 


tribe,  and  by  mutual  consent, 
varied  with  dififerent  tribal  com- 
munities. The  regard  which  the 
blackfellow  has  for  the  observ- 
ance of  the  traditions  which  have 
come  down  to  them  is  shown  in 
many  ways. 

For  instance,  marriage  be- 
tween members  of  the  same 
class — the  classes  vary  in  number 
and  are  designated  by  the  names 
of  animals,  each  indicating  a 
definite  degree  of  relationship — 
has  been  held  to  be  grossly  im- 
moral. Even  the  mating  of  those 
related  by  marriage  ties  only,  is 
forbidden  in  many  tribes.  Con- 
trasted with  such  evidence  of 
eugenic  considerations  are  many 
barbarities  whose  origin  has  long 
been  swallowed  up  in  the  black 
night  of  superstitious  ages. 
There  is  the  amputation  of  one 
or  more  joints  of  the  little  finger 
of  one  hand  practiced  upon  the 
young  women  of  some  tribes,  or 
the   knocking   out   of   the    front 


This  is  Archie  Blackmore.  I  met  him 
on  the  veranda  of  an  Adelaide  hotel 
where,  after  wishing  us  "Good  day,  kind 
gentlemen  and  ladies,"  he  passed  the  hat 
and  before  the  porter  spied  him  collected 
enough  money  to  buy  a  Panama  hat  with 
a  laright  blue  ribbon  on  it,  and  get  his 
whiskers  trimmed.  He  is  representative 
of  the  blackfellows  who  are  rapidly 
dying  out  in  South  Australia. 


teeth  of  the  wife-to-be  in  other 
localities.  Laceration  of  the  body  was  practiced  by  both  men 
and  women,  sometimes  as  a  matter  of  lamentation  over  the 
dead,  sometimes  as  part  of  the  ceremonial  at  a  feast. 

Out  in  the  Kimberleys,  in  Western  Australia,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  a  blackfellow's  death  his  wives  were  clubbed  to  death, 
amid  much  pomp  and  ceremony,  by  the  old  married  men  of 
the  tribe. 

In  all  the  tribes  the  initiation  of  the  youths  into  man's 
estate — called  man-making — was   conducted   with   much    for- 


"ts-Kf 


This  native  basket  weaver  staged  a  special  performance  for  the 
benefit  of  the  camera  man.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  old  chap  works 
very  steadily  at  his  job  because  life  is  too  easy  in  the  tropics  of 
Northern  Queensland  to  demand  much  effort.  A  bush  shelter,  a  few 
branches  for  a  bed,  an  old  sack  for  covering  on  chilly  nights,  a  little 
food  and  less  clothing,  and  he  is  satisfied. 


EARLY  HISTORY  ii 

mality,  the  exact  nature  of  the  ceremony  varying  with  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  but  being  essentially  the  same  in  certain  rites, 
notably  that  of  circumcision.  It  usually  took  place  in  a  sacred 
circle  within  which  very  often  a  gigantic  human  figure  was 
crudely  sketched  on  the  ground.  A  spectator  told  me  of  the 
ordeal  of  one  young  blackfellow  as  witnessed  recently  : 

"He  was  obliged  to  fast  for  several  days.  A  great  smoke 
was  raised  by  burning  green  leaves  on  the  final  day,  and  he 
was  permitted  to  view  the  women  at  a  distance  thru  the  smoke. 
He  was  tempted  to  break  his  fast  by  offers  of  food,  to  exhibit 
fear  by  being  subjected  to  threats  of  brutal  treatment,  to  lose 
his  gravity  by  comic  representations.  Failure  to  undergo  the 
tests  proposed  meant  the  severest  sort  of  punishment. 

"After  the  ordeal  was  successfully  submitted  to,  the  youth 
was  eligible  for  marriage,  but  not  until  he  had  passed  thru  all 
the  stages  of  initiation,  including,  in  many  tribes,  the  plucking 
out  of  the  hair  in  handfuls,  fire-treading  and  sitting  upon 
green  leaves  heaped  over  a  smoldering  fire." 

In  the  case  of  women  the  rites  were  similar  and  the  opera- 
tion performed  just  as  painful,  the  initiators  in  this  case  being 
the  married  women  of  the  tribe.  In  no  case  were  men  allowed 
to  witness  the  ceremony  attendant  upon  the  initiation  of  young 
girls,  nor  were  women  present  at  the  man-making  ceremonv. 
Both  sexes,  however,  mingled  at  the  feast  which  was  held 
afterwards.  Whenever  possible,  a  number  of  youths  under- 
went the  tests  at  the  same  time. 

When  the  Prince  of  Wales  visited  Australia  two  years  ago, 
he  expressed  a  wish  to  see  the  two  strangest  things  in  the 
world — one  an  animal,  the  other  an  operation. 

The  animal  is  the  platypus,  which  lays  eggs  like  a  turtle 
but  suckles  its  young  and  carries  them  in  a  pouch.  Insofar 
as  the  baby  platypus  is  concerned,  mother  platypus  is  a  com- 
plete family  hotel,  providing  room  with  board.  To  the  scientist 
the  platypus  is  one  of  the  freaks  of  the  animal  world. 

The  Prince's  desire  to  see  the  strangest  operation  in  the 
world  was  not  as  easily  satisfied  as  his  interest  in  the  platypus. 
The  operation  is  performed  on  a  male  and  it  is  quite  common 


m . 


\^ 


The  Australian  blackfcllow  does  not  prosper  in  the  midst  of  the 
white  man's  civilization.  The  natives  hold  tenaciously  to  their  indolent, 
easy-going  ways  of  living,  contented  with  their  reed  huts,  absorbing 
the  white  man's  vices  but  none  of  his  virtues.  Tlu-y  will  wear  a  few 
of  the  garments  of  civilization — when  they  have  to. 


EARLY  HISTORY  13 

with  the  native  blacks.  The  Prince's  train  was  stopped  at  a 
government-supported  camp  of  these  aboriginals,  where  the 
stage  had  been  set  for  the  operation.  There  was  one  white 
woman,  a  "nut"  on  developing  the  black  race,  living  with  this 
tribe.  She  met  the  train  and  took  the  Prince  in  charge,  thereby 
upsetting  the  program,  because  the  operation  couldn't  be 
staged  in  the  presence  of  a  woman.  Lord  Hamilton,  from 
London,  a  member  of  the  party,  said,  "Just  leave  it  to  me." 
He  rushed  up  to  the  woman,  saying:  "Oh,  Lady  Hamilton 
heard  of  your  great  work  out  here  and  made  me  promise  to 
have  you  tell  me  all  about  it."  The  "nut"  dropped  the  Prince. 
Hamilton  missed  seeing  how  a  "whistler"  is  made,  the  Prince's 
curiosity  was  satisfied,  the  bell  rang  and  the  party  was  on  its 
way  for  Victoria. 

Time  has  done  away  with  many  old  customs,  but  the  use 
of  the  primitive  letter-stick  as  an  aid  to  love-making  is  as 
prevalent  today  among  the  wild  tribes  as  it  was  in  ancient  times. 
The  stick  was  a  bit  of  twig,  perhaps  an  inch  and  a  half  long, 
and  cut  with  three  small  notches,  one  to  represent  the 
"dliomka,"  the  person  who  carried  the  message,  and  the  other 
two  to  represent  the  lovers.  The  stick  might  be  carried  for 
months,  where  the  lovers  belonged  to  different  tribes,  but  in- 
variably delivery  was  finally  made  and  was  a  token  of  their 
engagement. 

Lamentations  for  the  dead,  sounding  like  the  hideous  howl- 
ing of  wild  dogs,  and  including  many  ceremonies  calculated 
to  keep  away  evil  spirits,  are  followed  by  burial  in  the  fashion 
approved  by  tribal  custom.  Li  localities  where  parts  of  the 
body  are  eaten,  usually  only  the  arm-bone  is  given  burial,  the 
final  ceremony  taking  place  months  after  death.  L^sually  the 
corpse  is  first  placed  on  a  high  platform  of  rudely  fashioned 
limbs  in  a  treetop.  The  withered  flesh  and  bones  are  subse- 
quently taken  down  and  bundled  into  a  hollow  tree,  or  in  a 
cave.  Quite  often  the  skeleton  is  dismembered  and  relics  given 
to  all  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased.. 

If  the  dead  man  has  been  killed,  his  murder  must  be 
avenged,  but  his  murderer  must  first  be  discovered,  which  is 


H 


AUSTRALIA 


done  in  a  highly  original  n.inner  in  some  tribes.  A  sliin- 
bone,  wrapped  in  greasy  coverings,  is  held  over  a  fire.  When 
it  sputters  the  flying  grease  is  supposed  to  point  out  the  guilty 
one.  Quite  often  a  sorcerer  has  to  be  called  in,  and  spells 
are  relied  upon  to  establish  the  identity  of  the  guilty  one.  Quite 
often  an  innocent  man  is  killed  to  vent  the  spite  of  the  sorcerer ; 


These  two  aborif^inal  women  coyly  consented  to  liave  their  plioto- 
graph  taken  if  permitted  t(^  wear  their  pipes.  The  women,  who  are 
called  "gins,"  are  cheerful  and  even-tempered  and  some  of  them  make 
faithful  servants  on  the  farms  that  are  "far  out-i)ack,"  as  they  say 
in  Australia.  The  photograph  suggests  that  woman's  fondness  for  a 
dog  is  not  an  exclusively  aristocratic  trait. 


EARLY  HISTORY  15 

often,  too,  the  first  blackfellow  of  another  tribe  who  is  met 
by  the  avengers  is  slain  in  cold  blood  to  meet  the  needs  of 
primitive  justice. 

Human  life  was  cheap  among  these  simple  people,  and  the 
rule  of  "a  life  for  a  life"  did  not  always  insist  that  the  right 
life  be  taken.  After  "justice"  had  been  dealt  out,  even  if  the 
true  murderer  should  be  revealed,  a  small  payment  to  the  rela- 
tives of  the  dead  man  was  usually  considered  sufficient  repara- 
tion ;  the  account  had  already  been  squared. 

Among  the  interesting  customs  of  the  aborigines  are  their 
corroborees,  exhibitions  of  which  are  at  rare  intervals  given 
even  now  on  special  occasions  in  Australian  cities.  The  cor- 
roborcc  is  usually  the  feast  given  at  the  close  of  some  tribal 
ceremonial,  altho  occasionally  it  has  no  especial  significance, 
but  merely  represents  the  black  fellow's  idea  of  a  royal  good 
time.  In  their  original  form,  many  of  the  corroborees  are 
licentious  in  the  extreme  and  culminate  in  the  loosest  sort  of 
conduct  both  among  the  married  and  the  unmarried. 

At  these  corroborees  the  men  are  usually  the  sole  perform- 
ers, the  women  sitting  in  front  by  great  fires  and  beating  time 
by  striking  sticks  together  or  clapping  their  hands.  The 
dancers,  smeared  from  head  to  foot  with  colored  clay  in  weird 
designs,  and  decked  out  with  feathers  and  flowers,  engage  in 
fantastic  wrigglings  of  the  body  and  wild  leaps  into  the  air, 
accompanied  by  facial  contortions  wonderful  to  behold.  Many 
of  their  antics  reveal  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  which  is  final 
proof  that  the  blackfellow  is  not  a  degenerate,  but  merely  an 
undeveloped  child. 

The  aborigine,  in  spite  of  the  humane  treatment  accorded 
him  by  the  government,  seems  doomed  to  extinction.  As  the 
years  pass  Australia  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  hundred 
per  cent  "white  man's  country." 


Frank  Coffee,  author  of  "Forty  Years  on  the  Pacific,"  is  one  of  the 
foremost  authorities  on  Pacific  affairs.  Altho  he  has  lived  in  Sydney  for 
forty  years  he  still  is  an  American  citizen.  Mr.  Coffee  was  a  fellow 
passenger  on  the  Makura  out  of  Vancouver.  He  was  returning  from  a 
visit  to  the  battlefields  of  Gallipoli,  where  one  of  his  sons,  a  British 
officer  and  former  newspaper  man  in  Vancouver,  met  his  death  in  the 
ill-fated  attempt  of  the  British  to  drive  the  Turks  from  the  peninsula. 
Beginning  as  a  printer  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Coffee  later  went  into 
business,  which  took  him  into  every  port  of  consequence  in  the  South 
Seas.  He  is  a  keen  observer  and  a  most  interesting  conversationalist — 
when  he  will  talk. 

Not  infref|uent!y  it  develops  tli.it  Air.  Coffee  is  better  posted  on 
Pacific  countries  than  the  persons  who  live  in  them.  On  board  tlie 
Makura  one  day,  a  rotund  individual,  talking  about  New  {niinca.  re- 
marked that  it  was  a  t\pical  I'ritish  possession.  Some  one  corrected  him, 
saying  that  part  of  the  island  is  a  Dutch  possession  and  that  Australia 
now  not  only  controls  the  part  which  before  the  war  belonged  to  Ger- 
many, but,  akso,  the  British  territory. 

"I've  lived  there  all  my  life,"  said  the  rotund  gentleman,  "and  I 
never  heard  of  Dutch  territory  in  New  Guinea." 

An  argument  and  a  wager  followed.  It  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Coffee's 
book  should  be  accepted  as  the  deciding  authority. 

"I  never  knew  that  before,"  said  the  rotund  one  wiien  he  learned 
that  he  had  lost. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  COMMONWEALTH   OF  AUSTRALIA 

CREDIT  for  the  first  recorded  discovery  of  Australia  goes 
to  the  Dutch.  In  1606,  Willem  Jansz,  in  the  Duyfken 
(the  Dove),  touched  the  shores  of  York  Peninsula,  believing, 
however,  that  he  was  on  the  west  coast  of  New  Guinea.  In 
1616,  Dick  Hartog,  as  told  later  in 
this  book,  also  landed  on  Australian 
soil  and  left  tangible  evidence  in  the 
form  of  a  tin  plate,  to  be  followed 
eighty-one  years  later  by  another 
Dutch    adventurer,    who    took    down 

Hartog's  plate  and  put  up  one  of  his 

Australia's 
own.  Coat  of  Arms. 

It  is  pretty  definitely  established, 
however,  that  other  white  men  had  either  visited  Australia,  or 
at  least  knew  of  it,  for  as  early  as  1521  the  continent  is  shown 
on  maps,  particularly  those  of  French  cartographers,  which 
would  suggest  that  French  explorers  were  the  first  to  view 
Australia.  By  1542,  on  the  maps  of  Jean  Rotz,  the  outline 
shown  begins  to  conform  to  our  present  conception  of  the 
coast  line,  but  it  is  certain  that  Sieur  de  Gonneville  and  Jean 
Parmentier,  the  only  two  Frenchmen  known  to  have  sailed 
the  eastern  seas,  did  not  go  farther  than  Sumatra.  It  is  prob- 
able, therefore,  that  the  maps  were  drawn  from  information 
obtained  from  Portuguese  sources,  tho  the  earliest  known 
voyage  of  the  Portuguese,  that  of  Gaetan,  was  made  in  1545, 
and  it  is  not  known  that  he  reached  Australia. 

In  the  same  year  (1606)  that  Jansz  discovered  Australia, 
but  later  in  the  year,  Luys  \^aez  de  Torres,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  ships  in  the   Spanish   Squadron  which   had  been 

17 


i8 


AUSTRALIA 


ordered  to  make  explorations  in  the  Eastern  seas,  became 
separated  from  the  other  vessels  and  continued  his  voyage 
eastward,  touching  the  eastern  end  of  New  Guinea  and  then 
passing  thru  the  strait  which  bears  his  name.  He  touched  the 
northern  coast  of  Australia  at  several  points,  but,  finding  no 
safe  harbor  and  fearing  the  aborigines,  who  showed  anything 
but  a  peaceful  front,  he  did  not  explore  farther. 

A'arious  Dutch  explorers  appear  to  have  sighted  the  new 
land  and  to  have  made  vague  reports  of  its  extent,  so  in  1642 
Abel  Jansen  Tasman  was  sent  out  from  Batavia  to  discover 
its  real  size  and  possibilities.  He  found  the  island  now  known 
by  his  name,  Tasmania,  but  supposed  it  to  be  a  part  of  the 
mainland.  His  voyage,  however,  settled  many  of  the  geo- 
graphical questions  raised  by  previous  explorations. 

Captain  James  Cook,  in  1770,  was  probably  the  first  English- 


Federal  Parliament  House  in  Mclhoiiriie.  Tliis  is,  and  will  continue 
to  be,  tile  national  IcLcislative  hail  until  the  "inade-to-order"  capital  is 
completed  in  the  Yass-Cangerra  district  of   New  South  Wales. 


THE  COMMONWEALTH 


19 


Beneath  this  gum  tree  in  December,  1836,  a  British  ofiicer  formiilly 
proclaimed  that  Great  Britain  recognized  South  Australia  as  a  colony. 
For  more  than  85  years  it  has  stood  near  Glenelg,  a  suburb  of  Adelaide, 
visited  each  year  by  hundreds  of  persons.  The  state  has  braced  it  with 
steel  rods  and  it  looks  good  for  many  more  years. 


man  to  set  foot  on  Australian  soil.  He  had  been  sent  out  in 
the  ship  Endeavor  to  Tahiti  to  observe  a  transit  of  the  planet 
Venus.  Returning  from  there,  he  continued  to  New  Zealand, 
passing  thru  the  strait  now  named  after  him.  Continuing 
south,  he  reached  a  land  hitherto  unknown  to  the  mapmakers, 
which,  because  of  its  many  plants  altogether  new  to 
botanists,  he  named  Botany  Bay.  The  land  along  which  he 
coasted  he  named  New  South  Wales  from  its  resemblance  to 
the  coast  of  Wales. 

Two  years  later,  in  1772,  he  was  sent  out  to  extend  his 
explorations.  His  reports  led  to  considerable  talk  of  settling 
the  continent  and  claiming  it  for  England,  but  it  was  some 
sixteen  years  later  that  the  first  shipload  was  landed — convicts. 

The  loss  of  the  American  colonies  by  Great  Britain  was  in 
large  measure  responsible  for  the  early  activity  in  colonizing. 
England  needed  a  place  to  dump  her  political  prisoners  and  the 
many  persons  convicted  under  the  severe  laws  of  the  period. 


Imagine  1,200,000  acres  thickly  studded  with  smooth,  strait^iit  trees, 
200  feet  tall  on  the  average,  four  feet  in  diameter  and  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  to  tlie  first  l)ranch  and  you  will  have  a  picture  of  a  typical 
karri  forest  in  Western  Australia. 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  21 

Slightly  more  than  83,000  convicts  were  transported  hefore  the 
practice  was  discontinued.  While  many  of  these  were  hardened 
criminals,  no  doubt,  a  fair  proportion  were  men  whose  mis- 
demeanors today  would  be  punished  by  thirty  days  in  jail. 
In  a  good  many  cases  the  only  crime  was  debt.  Quite  a 
number  of  Irish  and  other  political  plotters  against  the  Crown 
were  banished  to  Australia. 

The  actual  annexation  of  the  country  took  place  on  January 
26,  1788,  when  Captain  Phillip  read  to  the  First  Fleet,  assem- 
bled in  Sydney  Cover,  the  words  of  his  commission.  The  first 
few  years  of  the  occupation,  in  which  the  new  settlement  was 
moved  from  Botany  Bay  to  Port  Jackson,  were  full  of  dis- 
appointment. Inland  exploration  was  begun,  but  it  was  many 
years  before  any  but  adverse  reports  were  brought  back  by  the 
hardy  pioneers.  Such  men  as  Gregory  Blaxland,  Governor 
Macquarie,  John  Oxley  and  Charles  Sturt  brought  back  con- 
flicting reports,  but  all  w^ere  practically  unanimous  in  con- 
demning it  as  a  drought-stricken  country,  little  better  than  a 
desert.  Sturt's  story  of  his  experiences  among  the  aborigines 
read  like  fiction,  and  for  years  his  account  of  the  blackfellows 
was  the  final  word  on  these  unhistoried  people. 

In  the  meanwdiile,  the  coast  line  was  pretty  well  charted 
and  here  and  there  settlements  were  begun.  This  tendency  to 
hold  to  the  coast  has  continued  to  this  day,  and  at  the  present 
time  more  than  eighty  per  cent  of  the  population  live  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  the  sea,  and  there  are  no  inland  cities  of 
over  10,000  population  save  six  mining  camps. 

There  are  at  the  present  time  six  states  comprising  the 
Commonwealth,  plus  the  Northern  Territory,  which  has  not 
as  yet  been  granted  all  the  rights  of  self-government.  These 
states  are :  Victoria,  New  South  Wales,  Tasmania,  Queens- 
land, Western  Australia  and  South  Australia.  Up  until  the 
forming  of  the  Commonwealth  there  was  constant  jealousy 
and  bickering  between  the  states,  Victoria  and  New  South 
Wales  furnishing  most  of  the  disturbance.  For  many  years 
this  jealousy  frustrated  the  efforts  of  the  broad-minded  ele- 
ment which  saw  that  there  could  be  no  true  progress  in  solving 


22 


AUSTRALIA 


This  view  of  a  glacier  stream  on  Mt.  Kosciusko,  New  South  Wales, 
shows  that  Australia  has  its  regions  of  snow  and  ice  as  well  as  its  dis- 
trict of  tropical  heat  and  vegetation. 


Australia's  many  and  peculiar  problems  until  they  were  united. 

The  movement  toward  federalization  had  its  beginning  as 
early  as  1850,  but  it  was  not  until  1883  that  the  first  real  step 
was  taken.  The  attempt  was  sporadic,  but  in  1885  an  im- 
portant move  was  made,  which,  while  barren  of  definite  results, 
at  least  materialized  the  desire  for  union.  This  took  the  form 
of  a  Federal  Council,  created  by  the  Imperial  Parliament  for 
all  yVustralasia.  However,  only  four  colonies  were  represented : 
Victoria,  Queensland,  Tasmania  and  Western  .\ustralia. 

The  Federal  Council  possessed  only  limited  legislative  pow- 
ers in  minor  legislation,  and  as  it  had  no  pcnver  to  enforce  its 
rulings,  it  was  really  on))-  an  adxisory  body.  It  held  eight 
meetings,  continuing  t(^  ftniction  initil  the  forming  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, but  its  usefulness  had  ceased  long  before. 

In  i!^<;i,  a  national  conxcnlioii  nui  at  Sydney,  declared  in 
favor  of  federati(jn  and  formulated  the  principles  upon  which 
the  jjroposed  C(jmnionvveallh  government  should  be  based.  The 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  23 

fundamental  idea  was  that  of  a  strongly  centralized  union,  but 
with  the  provision  that  all  powers  not  expressly  delegated  to 
the  Commonwealth  should  remain  vested  in  the  individual 
states.  Substantially,  this  is  the  same  States  Rights  doctrine 
which  played  havoc  in  the  early  days  of  our  own  Union.  It 
accomplished  the  same  result  in  Australia,  delaying  federation 
for  a  good  many  years. 

The  four  years  till  1895  were  unproductive  of  definite  ac- 
tion, but  in  that  year  a  conference  of  colonial  premiers  met  at 
Hobart  and  drafted  the  Enabling  Act,  providing  for  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention.  This  act  was 
passed  by  the  various  colonial  legislatures,  and  on  March  22, 
1897,  the  constitutional  convention  met  at  Adelaide,  adjourning 
first  to  Sydney  and  then  to  Melbourne,  and  succeeded  in  draft- 
ing a  constitution  to  submit  to  the  people. 

Victoria,  South  Australia  and  Tasmania  adopted  the  con- 
stitution by  substantial  majorities.  Queensland  and  Western 
Australia  took  no  action.  New  South  Wales  failed  to  pass  it, 
aUho  a  majority  voted  in  favor  of  adoption ;  the  legislature  had 
stipulated  that  a  minimum  of  80,000  votes — about  two-thirds 
of  the  electors — would  be  necessary  for  ratification. 

The  main  point  at  issue  was  the  matter  of  the  rights  to  be 
reserved  to  the  states.  The  constitution  as  submitted  was  a 
compromise  between  loose  federalization  and  centralization. 
The  former  undoubtedly  was  favored  by  the  great  majority 
of  people,  but  met  with  strong  opposition  from  the  powerful 
labor  element,  which  was  especially  influential  in  \"ictoria  and 
New  South  Wales.  After  certain  changes  demanded  by  this 
latter  colony  had  been  embodied  in  the  document,  it  was  re-sub- 
mitted and  was  accepted  by  all  save  Western  Australia,  which 
came  in  later. 

The  constitution  of  Australia  is  obviously  modeled  on  that 
of  the  United  States.  Altho  there  are  several  vital  departures, 
there  are  the  same  general  divisions  of  government.  Profiting 
by  the  experience  of  this  country,  however,  the  framers  of 
the  constitution  paved  the  way  for  a  more  centralized  govern- 
ment than  ours,  and  provided  for  its  participation  in  certain 


24 


AUSTRALIA 


fields  denied  the  Federal  Government  of  the  United  States. 
Such  subjects  as  divorce,  corporations,  bankruptcy  and  the  na- 
tionalization of  the  railroads  were  included  within  the  scope 
of  federal  power. 

The  legislative  function  of  the  Commonwealth  is  vested  in 
a  federal  parliament,  composed  of  the  sovereign  of  Great 
Britain  or  his  representative,  a  senate  and  a  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. The  Senate  is  composed  of  six  members  from  each 
state,  elected  from  the  state  at  large  for  a  term  of  six  years. 
The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  chosen  for 
three  years.  There  must  be  as  nearly  as  possible  twice  as  many 
representatives  as  there  are  senators.  These  are  apportioned 
among  the  states  according  to  population,  but  no  state  may  have 
fewer  than  five  representatives.  The  Governor-General,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Crown,  may  summon,  prorogue  or  dissolve 
Parliament,  but  it  must  meet  every  year. 

To  most  Americans  the  capital  of  Australia  is  Melbourne, 


Another  view  on  Mt.  Ko.sciu.sko,  flie  liighest  point  in  Australia. 
This  peak  is  7,328  feet  above  sea  level  and  has  been  set  apart  l)y  the 
government  as  a  national  playground.  It  is  popular  with  those  enjoying 
winter  sports. 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  25 

and  indeed  Melbourne  has  been  the  seat  of  government,  but 
the  constitution  provided  that :  "The  seat  of  government  of 
the  CommonweaUh  shall  be  .  .  .  in  the  state  of  New  South 
Wales  .  .  .  not  less  than  one  hundred  miles  from  Sydney. 
The  Parliament  shall  sit  in  Melbourne  until  it  meets 
at  the  seat  of  government." 

In  1908,  the  district  of  Yass-Cangerra,  in  the  southeastern 
corner  of  New  South  Wales,  was  selected  as  the  site  of  the 
future  capital  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  1909,  the  state  agreed 
to  grant  to  the  Commonwealth  an  area  of  about  nine  hundred 
square  miles,  two  square  miles  at  Jervis  Bay  for  a  port  and 
certain  other  areas  aggregating  2,302  acres  necessary  for  the 
defense  of  the  port. 

The  site  of  the  capital  lies  about  two  hundred  miles  south- 
west of  Sydney.  It  is  within  sight  of  the  snow-capped  peaks 
of  the  Australian  Alps.  It  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  in  the  geo- 
graphical center  of  the  continent,  but  it  is  in  touch  with  the 
most  densely  populated  sections  by  rail  and  water.  On  this 
virgin  spot  a  complete  city  is  being  planned — certainly  a  unique 
experiment  in  capital-choosing. 

In  191 1,  the  government  invited  the  submission  of  designs 
for  the  laying  out  of  the  city,  offering  substantial  prizes  for 
the  best  plans.  Americans  will  be  interested  in  knowing  that 
first  place  was  awarded  to  an  American,  W'alter  Burley  Griffin, 
a  Chicago  architect.  A  composite  design  was  finally  adopted, 
and  on  March  12,  1913,  occurred  the  ceremony  of  laying  the 
foundation  stones  of  the  column  which  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  city  building.  The  World  War  put  a  damper  on  further 
construction,  but  since  the  close  of  the  war  the  building  has 
been  resumed  and  is  being  pushed,  altho  considerable  opposi- 
tion is  being  encountered  to  the  spending  of  more  money, 
chiefly  from  Victoria,  in  which  the  present  capital  is  located. 

During  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Australia  in  1920, 
he  presided  at  the  laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  the  Parliament 
Building.  To  date  bridges  and  roads  have  been  built,  electric 
lighting,  sewerage  and  a  water  supply  system  have  been  in- 
stalled, and  model  cottages  for  the  workmen  constructed,  but 


26 


AUSTRALIA 


it  will  be  some  time  before  Australia's  made-to-order  capital 
will  be  ready  for  occupancy.  When  it  is  completed,  however, 
the    government    of    the    Commonwealth    will    be    located    in 


This  picture  I'rdiii  llu-  l'..i|;inn-,il  (  ..iidrn^  in  I'.n.sbane,  gives  one 
a  very  good  idea  of  tlie  variety  of  tropical  vegetation  to  be  fmiiid  in 
Australia,  reminiscent  of  prehistoric  ages. 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  27 

a  city   rivaling  in   beauty   many   of   the   capitals   of   the   Old 
World. 

The  history  of  the  political  development  of  Australia  is  a 
strangely  complicated  one  for  Americans  to  follow,  with  many 
phases  entirely  inexplicable  unless  one  knows  the  early  story 
of  each  of  the  states.  Many  modern  divisions  are  based  on  the 
jealousies  of  commerce,  of  immigration,  and  of  mining  in  the 
early  days. 

The  key  to  the  puzzle  of  Australian  politics  today,  how- 
ever, is  to  be  found  in  the  Labor  party.  The  history  of  that 
party  is  full  of  surprises  even  for  those  who  live  in  the  land 
of  the  kangaroo,  the  creature  of  great  jumps.  When  the  Com- 
monwealth came  into  being  the  Labor  party  was  a  controlling 
factor  in  the  new  order,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  failure  of 
New  South  Wales  to  adopt  the  first  draft  of  the  constitution. 
During  the  World  War  the  Labor  party  sat  in  the  saddle,  and 
now,  when  the  world  is  trying  to  recover  from  the  upset  con- 
dition of  that  period  of  struggle,  the  Labor  party  still  holds 
the  reins  and  is  the  producer  of  political  storms. 

Yet  the  Labor  party  represents  a  minority  of  the  electors. 
Again  and  again  it  has  been  given  power,  because  of  its  prom- 
ises and  its  evident  sincerity,  but  always  thru  the  "balancing 
voter,"  as  the  independent  voter  has  been  called.  Every  elec- 
tion in  the  Commonwealth  shows  that  the  balance  of  power  lies 
with  those  who  are  neither  hardshell  conservatives  nor  red 
revolutionaries. 

The  Labor  party  is  responsible  for  much  legislation  aimed 
to  render  the  lot  of  the  laborer  less  onerous.  Before  I  left 
the  United  States  I  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  labor 
courts  which  had  been  instituted  to  do  away  with  all  disputes 
between  employer  and  employed,  and  prevent  all  strikes  and 
lockouts.  I  landed  in  Sydney  during  a  big  strike  of  transporta- 
tion workers,  both  rail  and  water,  which  lasted  nearly  three 
months.  The  labor  courts  could  do  nothing,  as  the  workers 
refused  to  obey  the  court's  orders. 

When  the   trades  unions   gathered   strength   about   thirty 


28 


AUSTRALIA 


years  ago,  one  great  strike  after  another  gave  them  much 
advertising  and  prestige.  However,  their  gains  were  merely 
transitory,  for  wages  have  always  been  determined  by  the  law 
of  supply  and  demand,  and  capital  is  ever  more  mobile  than 
labor.  The  strikers  were  advised  that  in  order  to  maintain 
their  hard-won  positions  they  must  take  the  fight  into  Parlia- 
ment and  gain  their  ends  by  constitutional  means. 

In  1890  the  great  shipping  strike  throttled  Australian  in- 
dustries. Defeated  as  strikers,  the  workers  turned  to  the 
ballot  box,  and  at  the  New  South  Wales  election  of  1891  a 
large  number  of  Labor  members  were  sent  to  the  State  Parlia- 
ment. In  this  campaign  a  young  man  of  twenty-seven  particu- 
larly distinguished  himself  for  the  fervor  and  resource  with 
which  he  threw  himself  into  the  struggle.  In  1894,  he  was 
elected  as  one  of  the  labor  representatives.  When  I  visited  Aus- 
tralia I  had  the  great  pleasure  of  discussing  Australian  affairs 
with  liim.  He  was  at  that  time  Premier  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Australia,  the  Right  Honorable  William  Morris  Hughes. 

He  was  born  in  Wales  in  1864,  but  at  the  age  of  twenty, 
with  a  schoolboy  companion  of  the  same  age,  he  set  out  for 
Australia,  landing  in  Brisbane.  As  poor  as  it  was  possible  to  be 
and  frail  in  body,  this  youth  faced  the  continent  that  was  later 


Camels  play  an  important  part  in  the  transportation  problems  of 
the  more  barren  districts  of  Australia.  In  the  desert  areas  they  are 
depended  upon  almost  entirely.  The  picture  shows  a  carting  outfit  in 
Northern  Territory  and  along  a  stretch  of  country  that  is  anything  but  dry. 


THE  COMMONWEALTH  29 

to  hail  him  as  its  Prime  Minister.  He  went  about  four  hun- 
dred miles  inland,  where  he  worked  in  a  railway  freight  shed. 
Later,  on  sheep  stations,  as  ranches  are  called  in  Australia, 
Hughes  was  shearer,  stockman,  and  fencer.  In  1890,  he  opened 
a  small  shop  in  Sydney,  where  he  sold  books  and  repaired 
locks.  Here  he  also  found  time  to  read.  Henry  George's 
"Progress  and  Poverty"  made  a  strong  impression  on  him 
and  resulted  in  his  forming  a  land  tax  association  in  Sydney. 
While  there  he  also  organized  the  Sheep  Shearers'  Union  of 
Australia. 

Once  in  Parliament  he  quickly  sprang  into  prominence  be- 
cause of  his  ability  to  debate,  his  unconventional  methods  of 
attack  and  his  instinctive  knowledge  of  human  nature.  When 
the  first  Labor  government  came  into  power  in  the  Federal 
Parliament  in  1904,  Hughes  took  office  as  the  Minister  for 
External  Afifairs,  a  position  for  which  he  had  qualified  himself 
during  his  state  parliamentary  period,  when  he  had  spent  his 
"spare"  time  in  the  study  of  law. 

He  was  acting  Prime  Minister  on  two  occasions,  but  it  was 
in  191 5  that  he  became  Premier  in  fact.  During  the  war  he 
was  an  electric  personality  in  uniting  the  country  against  the 
German  menace,  which  in  certain  parts  of  the  Commonwealth 
was  not  so  keenly  felt.  He  left  the  Labor  party  because  of 
its  failure  to  recognize  Australia's  war  obligations,  and  led 
the  Nationalists,  who  returned  him  to  Parliament  with  an  over- 
whelming majority.  He  smashed  the  German  monopoly  which 
controlled  the  products  of  Australian  mines,  and  instituted 
compulsory  pools  to  control  the  output  of  wheat,  wool  and 
butter.  When  no  ships  were  available  for  carrying  supplies, 
it  was  Hughes  who  secured  them. 

He  was  Australia's  representative  at  the  Peace  Conference 
and  while  there  did  signal  service  in  forcing  recognition  of 
the  necessity  of  the  continuation  of  the  "White  Australia" 
policy.  Lloyd  George  called  him  "one  of  the  men  upon 
whose  courage,  insight  and  inspiration  the  British  Empire  de- 
pends." In  x\ustralia  they  call  him  "a  piece  of  political  radium." 


s, 


^vv^xi;>^j/;^ 


^VJly"-^---^   ■» 


A 
f  ^ 


/r>A  .   .\'  ■-  rl.^-r-a 


>4 


Tin-  piarliiiL;  industry  of  Australia  centers  at  Broome  and  Ninety 
Mile  Beach.  I'or  pearls  such  as  arc  shown  in  this  picture,  men  risk 
their  lives.  The  white  man  does  not  make  a  Rood  diver.  l*'ilipinos, 
Malays  and  Japanese  predominate  in  the  divinf^  jjrofession.  The  pearl 
industry  at  Broome  is  worth  hetween  $1,500,000  and  $2,000,000  a  year 
to  the  Commonwealth. 


THE  COMMONWEALllI  31 

I  found  him  to  be  a  very  human,  afifable,  hkeable  man,  very 
deaf,  and  with  Httle  of  the  poHtician  about  him. 

The  "White  Australia"  pohcy,  spoken  of  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  is  the  settled  purpose  of  the  Commonwealth  gov- 
ernment to  preserve  the  continent  for  the  white  man.  The 
immigration  laws  are  administered  so  as  to  exclude  all  colored 
races  as  well  as  undesirable  elements  of  the  white  race.  Legis- 
lation is  directed  particularly  to  the  exclusion  of  Chinese,  Jap- 
anese, Negro  and  Polynesian  labor,  not  only  from  the  land, 
but  from  employment  in  coastwise  shipping,  pearl-fishing  and 
on  overseas  steamers  holding  mail  contracts. 

Australians  point  to  America  as  a  horrible  example  of  an 
unmanageable  mixture  of  races.  They  recognize  that  strict 
adherence  to  their  policy  will  retard  the  economic  develop- 
ment of  the  country,  but  they  feel  that  no  sacrifice  is  too  great 
to  make  in  keeping  the  colored  races  out.  Such  tropical  sec- 
tions as  the  northern  part  of  Queensland  are  really  suffering 
for  the  lack  of  cheap  colored  labor  to  develop  their  sugar  and 
fruit  plantations,  since  it  has  been  found  practically  impossible 
to  utilize  white  labor  in  these  industries  and  compete  with  the 
prices  of  countries  which  do  use  yellow,  brown  and  black 
laborers. 

I  can  readily  understand  that  the  fundamental  reason  for 
the  "White  Australia"  policy  is  economic  rather  than  fear  of 
the  intermixture  of  blood.  The  Australian  does  not  wish  to 
lower  his  standard  of  living  nor  disturb  the  existing  domina- 
tion of  "the  laboring  man,"  the  center  of  power  in  Australian 
politics.  For  that  reason  discriminatory  legislation  is  directed 
against  Asiatics  already  in  Australia.  For  instance,  I  found 
that  in  order  to  come  under  the  restrictions  of  the  factory 
laws  one  Asiatic  constitutes  a  factory,  while  in  most  states  six 
white  people  are  allowed  to  work  together  without  being  so 
titled. 

Knowing  of  the  struggle  there  had  been  at  the  time  of  the 
forming  of  the  Commonwealth  to  base  the  constitution  on  that 
of  Canada  rather  than  on  that  of  the  United  States.  I  was 
interested  in  a  studv  of  that  document  as  well  as  the  wav  the 


z^ 


AUSTRALIA 


practical  details  of  government  were  worked  out.  It  was  in 
this  latter  that  I  found  the  greatest  points  of  difference  from 
our  own  system.  To  an  Australian,  the  federal,  state  and  local 
governments  are  not  primarily  organizations  to  protect  prop- 
erty and  civil  rights  and  maintain  order ;  government,  accord- 
ing to  the  Australian,  exists  in  order  to  do  the  people's  business. 
The  remedy  for  all  public  and  private  ills  is  legislation. 
The  state  governments  fix  hours  and  wages  of  labor;  deter- 
mine the  conditions  under  which  labor  may  be  performed; 
operate  railroads,  street  cars,  ferry  boats,  electric  light  plants, 
telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  and  mines  ;  make  clothes  and  man- 
ufacture machinery;  sell 
land,  fish,  meat,  dairy  pro- 
duce, seed  wheat ;  build 
fences  and  roads ;  provide 
insurance  and  lend  money 
to  individuals.  There  is  no 
line  of  endeavor  that  may 
not  be  touched. 

Only  a  few  of  these 
things  are  done  by  the 
federal  government,  how- 
ever. The  states  have  re- 
tained many  powers  which 
in  this  country  we  consider 
beyond  their  sphere.  For 
instance,  all  taxation  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  state  gov- 
ernments, as  well  as  control 
of  the  public  lands  and  waterways.  In  some  respects  at  least 
the  states  have  refused  to  become  .submerged  in  the  Common- 
wealth, just  as  the  Commonwealth  has  refused  to  become  sul)- 
merged  in  the  liritish  I'jnpire.  Australia  is  not  disloyal  to  the 
mother  country,  but  she  is  indei)en(lent.  feehng  that  the  (  oni- 
monwealth  f)wes  its  origin,  but  not  its  development,  to  I'.ngland. 
anrl  that  it  is  a  growing  nation  whose  ])r()blcms  arc  ])eculiar  to 
itself  and  nnist  be  sohed  by  its  own  original  nuthods. 


In  Australia  they  have  much  of  "government 
in  business."  They  do  not  consider  this  an 
interference  with  private  initiative.  This  street 
scene  in  Sydney  suggests  that  government  in 
business  isn't  fatal  to  municipal  development. 


CHAPTER  III 


AGRICULTURE  AND   MINING 

AUSTRALIA  has  a  range  of  climate  sufficiently  varied  to 
enable  all  forms  of  temperate,  sub-tropical  and  tropical 
fruits  and  vegetables  to  be  grov^n  to  perfection.  Its  soil  is 
rich  enough  and  its  resources  great  enough  to  feed  and  clothe 

at  least  a  hundred  million  peo- 
ple instead  of  the  five  million 
it  now  possesses.  Its  natural 
wealth  lies  in  its  wonderful 
pastures,  its  immense  flocks  of 
sheep  and  herds  of  cattle,  its 
forests  of  great  trees,  its 
mines  and  water  resources. 

It  is  the  land  of  opportun- 
ity,   and    were    it    nearer   the 
crowded    centers    of    Europe 
and  its  resources  as  well  ad- 
vertised as  those  of   Canada  and  Ar- 
gentine and  the  United  States,  it  would 
be  the  Mecca  of  the  European  emigrant. 
For  Australia  needs  sturdy  white  set- 
tlers to  open  up  its  grain  fields,  make 
use  of  its  forests,  harness  its  rivers  and 
divert  the  excess  flood  water  over  the 
fertile  but  now  arid  soil.    Australia  has 
millions   of    fertile   acres    to   oft'er   the 
wheat  grower,  the  dairyman,  the  stock- 
raiser  and  the  horticulturist. 

Australia  maintains  sixteen  head  of  sheep  and  two  head  of 
cattle,  and  grows  about  thirty  bushels  of  wheat,  for  each  man, 
woman  and  child  in  the  country.     Every  type  of  crop,  from 


A  blue-ribbon  ]\Ierino 
ram. 


33 


34 


AUSTRALIA 


pineapples,  sugarcane,  tobacco  and  bananas  in  tropical  Queens- 
land, to  wheat,  hay,  barley,  oats,  corn,  potatoes  and  all  temper- 
ate fruits  in  the  southern  states,  thrive  to  perfection.  Only  the 
fringe  of  the  continent  has  been  exploited  and  a  mere  fraction 
of  its  area  cultivated,  yet  it  probably  produces  more  actual 
wealth  from  the  soil  per  head  of  population  than  any  other 
country  on  the  globe.  It  is  so  rich  on  top  of  and  underneath 
the  earth  surface  that  the  forty  per  cent  who  live  on  the  land 
support  the  sixty  per  cent  who  live  in  the  cities. 

The  main  element  in  determining  the  agriculture  of  a 
country  is  the  rainfall.  One-third  of  Australia,  approximately 
one  million  square  miles  or  640,000,000  acres,  has  a  rainfall 
of  over  twenty  inches.  This  area  is  the  coastal  belt,  and  is 
the  portion  where  intensive  cultivation  may  be  practiced.  Next 
to  this  is  a  belt  of  over  a  million  square  miles  with  a  rainfall 
of  ten  to  twenty  inches.  The  rest  of  the  country,  another 
third,  or  nearly  that,  has  no  rainfall  at  all,  or  less  than  ten 
inches,  if  any. 

Of  the   1,200,000,000  acres  with  a  rainfall  exceeding  ten 


Clearing  a  tract  of  "malk-c"  land  in  tlir  .Murray  Rivrr  country. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING  35 

inches,  more  llian  300,fX)o,ooo  may  be  regarded  as  good  wheat 
land.  This  would  include  no  land  farther  north  than  twenty 
degrees  south  of  the  ecjuator.  If  we  assume  that  only  one- 
fifth  of  this  wheat  land  were  cultivated  and  the  yield  averaged 
only  ten  bushels  to  the  acre,  this  would  raise  enough  wheat  to 
feed  the  population  of  the  United  States. 

Owing  to  the  climatic  and  economic  conditions  of  this  flat 
or  slightly  rolling  country  it  is  possible  to  produce  wheat  profit- 
ably at  a  very  low  price.  Large  labor-saving  implements  of 
every  kind  can  be  used  to  advantage.  A  multiple-furrow  plow, 
turning  over  five  to  ten  acres  a  day,  drills  doing  ten  to  twenty- 
five  acres,  and  a  complete  harvester  and  thrasher,  which  takes 
a  strip  of  grain  nine  feet  wide  and  drops  out  a  filled  sack, 
enables  the  man  power  of  the  farm  to  be  used  to  the  best 
possible  advantage. 

The  climate  is  ideal,  the  stock  requiring  no  housing  in  win- 
ter. The  greater  part  of  the  rainfall  occurs  when  most  needed, 
from  May  to  October — at  a  time  when  evaporation  is  slight. 

The  ripening  period  of  the  crop,  from  October  to  December, 
just  opposite  to  our  own,  is  dry  and  hot,  thus  enabling  the 
wheat  to  mature  rapidly,  avoiding  many  diseases  common  to 
plant  life.  In  the  wheat  belt  of  the  United  States,  wnth  the 
exception  of  part  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  all  wheat  has  to  be  cut 
with  a  reaper  and  binder  and  thrashed.  The  labor  in  handling 
the  wheat  crop  under  these  conditions  is  very  great,  as  well  as 
the  loss  in  the  many  handlings.  But  in  Australia,  one  man  with  a 
team  of  three  to  five  horses  and  a  nine-foot  harvester  can  take 
ofif  comfortably  from  fifteen  to  twenty  acres  of  wheat,  bag  it 
and  have  it  ready  for  market  in  a  day. 

The  crop  is  planted  in  successions,  about  five  days  apart  and 
does  not  ripen  all  at  once — one  man  can  cut  wheat  for  thirty 
days  off  the  same  field. 

The  methods  of  cultivation  practiced  in  the  wheat  belt  are 
characteristic  of  Australia,  and  the  methods  are  adapted  to 
the  climatic  and  economic  conditions  of  the  country.  In  much 
of  the  wheat  belt  lack  of  moisture  is  the  limiting  factor  for 


36 


AUSTRALIA 


Clustering  .sIil'l'I)  un 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING 


37 


an  Australian  ranch. 


38  AUSTRALIA 

success.  To  counteract  this,  long  moisture  fallowing  is  prac- 
ticed. Sometimes  nine  or  ten  months  are  allowed  prior  to 
planting  for  fallowing.  In  some  instances  it  is  begun  fifteen 
to  eighteen  months  before  planting.  This  conserves  the  mois- 
ture, placing  at  the  disposal  of  the  growing  wheat  the  rainfall 
of  two  seasons. 

It  is  estimated  that  one  inch  of  winter  rain  is  capable  of 
producing  one  bag  of  grain,  or  two  bushels.  The  fallows  are 
usually  prepared  in  June  or  July  and  worked  thoroly  thruout 
the  summer  months  with  a  multiple-farrow  plow,  which  covers 
from  five  to  ten  acres  a  day. 

Practically  all  the  varieties  of  wheat  that  are  grown  in  the 
wheat  belt  have  been  developed  in  xA.ustralia.  The  most  popu- 
lar variety  in  the  Commonwealth  is  the  cross-bred  "Federation," 
which  was  produced  some  twenty  years  ago.  Australian  soil, 
as  are  most  soils  south  of  the  equator,  is  deficient  in  soluble 
phosphoric  acid.  The  application  of  a  small  amount  of  super- 
phosphate gives  wonderful  results.  State  agriculture  reports 
show  that  from  lOO  to  150  pounds  to  the  acre  can  be  api)lied 
with  profit.  Consequently,  the  phosphate  industry  in  Australia 
has  assumed  great  proportions,  and  nearly  90  per  cent  of  the 
wheat  crop  is  now  fertilized  in  this  manner.  The  soil  is  rich 
in  nitrates  and  needs  no  other  fertilizer. 

The  rotation  system  used  in  the  majority  of  cases  is  a 
three-course  one,  with  wheat,  pasture  and  bare-fallow.  The 
average  sized  farm  is  about  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and 
approximately  one-third  is  sown  each  year  with  wheat,  one- 
third  worked  as  a  bare-fallow  and  one-third  is  put  in  grass  or 
pasture  for  sheep.  The  average  640-acre  farm,  besides  raising 
200  acres  of  wheat,  carries  from  150  to  200  cross-bred  ewes, 
which  are  used  for  the  production  of  export  Irunbs  by  mating 
with  rams  oi  the  Downs  breeds,  such  as  Shri)i)shire.  Suffolk 
and  Southdown. 

Much  of  the  wheat  belt  was  formerly  "mallee"  .scrub — the 
name  given  to  areas  where  stunted  eucalyi)tus  grow.  This  is 
cleared  l)y  rolling  with  a  heavy  rdllcr  drawn  by  niruiy  oxen 
to  break  off  the  trees  even  with  the  •■rfiund,  which  tlicn  arc 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING 


39 


burned.  The  slumps  remain,  to  be  taken  out  at  a  more  ojjpor- 
tune  time,  perhaps.  In  the  meantime  the  farmer  plows  with 
a  specially  constructed  plow,  used  on  ground  of  this  sort, 
known  as  a  "Jump"  plow.  Everything  being  done  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  many  teams  are  used  on  each  plow,  four  to  six- 
furrow  plows  most  often  being  used.  The  cultivators  are  of 
two  main  types,  disc  and  tine  ;  the  tine  cultivators  can  cover 
fifteen  to  twenty  acres  a  day.  The  skim  plow  often  is  used 
as  a  cultivator,  especially  for  encrusted  land. 

When  the  crop  is  ready  for  harvesting  it  is  taken  ofif  by 
reaper-thrashers,  which  cut  off  the  heads  or  skin  the  grain  out  of 
the  heads,  and  thrash,  clean  and  sack  the  wheat,  all  in  one 
operation.  With  the  aid  of  these  efficient  machines,  the  Aus- 
tralian has  been  able  to  reduce  the  cost  of  production  so  that 
ten  bushels  to  the  acre  pays  him  well. 

The  area  sown  to  wheat  in  the  Commonwealth  fluctuated 
considerably  during  the  war  period,  but  the  average  is  about 
10,000.000  acres,  with  New  South  Wales  having  3,000,000 ; 
Victoria,  3,000,000;  South  Australia,  2,500,000;  Western  Aus- 


Shecp  shearing  approaches  the  dignity  of  a  profession  in  Australia, 
some  of  the  shearers  earning  as  much  as  twenty  dollars  a  day.  This 
is  a  scene  in  a  typical  shearing  shed. 


40 


AUSTRALIA 


An  Australian  wool  .store  showing  buyers  appraising  the  wool. 

tralia,  1,000,000  acres.  The  average  yield  is  twelve  and  a  half 
bushels  to  the  acre,  showing  a  steady  increase  in  the  last  twenty 
years  in  s])ite  of  the  utilization  of  the  drier  lands  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. Thus  in  Victoria  the  average  yield  for  the  first 
ten  years  of  the  present  century  was  eight  and  a  half  buslK'ls, 
while  the  next  ten  years  averaged  thirteen  bushels. 

State  Departments  of  Agriculture  have  done  much  to  ft)ster 
improved  methods  of  cultivation  by  judicious  propaganda  and 
by  the  establishment  of  exi)eriment  stations  and  private  experi- 
mental plots  on  farms.     The  state  of  X'ictoria  .sent  its  Super- 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING  41 

intendent  of  Agriculture,  A.  E.  V.  Richardson,  to  the  United 
States  to  look  us  over  and  see  how  we  do  things.  Australia 
had  heard  wonderful  reports  about  our  "dry  farming,"  but  Mr. 
Richardson  found  that  wc  had  only  copied  his  country's 
methods. 

The  seed  is  usually  sown  in  April  and  May,  the  Australian 
fall,  from  forty-five  to  ninety  pounds  to  the  acre  being  planted, 
depending  on  the  soil  and  the  season.  The  wheat  is  all  winter 
grown  and  is  harvested  during  December  and  January,  eight 
months  later.  June,  July  and  August  are  the  months  of  maxi- 
mum rainfall  in  the  wheat  belt. 

The  wheat  heretofore  has  been  marketed  in  bags,  but  the 
government  of  New  South  Wales  is  erecting  elevators,  and 
their  crop  in  the  future  will  be  handled  in  bulk,  as  it  is  in 
this  country.  Australian  wheat  has  always  been  in  great 
demand  in  the  markets  of  the  world  because  of  its  bright  color 
and  the  quality  of  the  flour  milled  from  it.  Australian  wheat 
will  undoubtedly  always  be  able  to  compete  with  the  rest  of 
the  wheat-growing  countries,  in  spite  of  its  distance  from  mar- 
ket, because  of  the  great  spaces  available  for  wheat  culture, 
the  ease  with  which  the  land  is  tilled,  and  the  highly  favorable 
climatic  conditions,  which  make  possible  the  use  of  all  kinds 
of  labor-saving  machinery.  One  man  can  do  the  work  of  two 
men  any  other  place  in  the  world. 

Australia's  present  production  runs  as  high  as  150,000,000 
bushels  a  year,  but  when  the  country  is  all  settled  1,000,000.000 
bushels  is  a  low  estimate  of  the  possible  production,  which 
means  that  she  can  easily  feed  a  population  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  million. 

One  of  the  remarkable  features  of  Australian  land,  par- 
ticularly the  wheat  land,  is  its  recuperative  power.  During 
one  of  the  ten  droughts  which  have  visited  the  country  like  a 
scourge  since  1880,  the  black  soil  plains  of  the  Darling  were 
reduced  to  fine  dust,  without  a  vestige  of  herbage  for  miles. 
Within  a  week  after  the  drought  was  broken  they  were  covered 
with  green  and  within  a  few  weeks  there  was  luxuriant  pastur- 
age.    Not  only  that,  but  in  New  South  Wales  the  fields  which 


The  machine  which  harvests,  thrashrs  and  sacks  wheat  and  enables 
one  man  to  handle  a  large  acreage.  In  the  center  picture  a  six-horse 
team  is  hanling  a  load  of  sacked  grain  from  the  harvesting  machines. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING  43 

during  the  drought  of  1892  yielded  some  two  bushels  to  the 
acre,  the  next  year  returned  fifteen  to  seventeen  bushels. 

Apparently  the  farmers  and  stock  raisers  have  the  same 
recuperative  power,  for  in  this  same  drought  New  South  Wales 
lost  17,000,000  sheep,  yet  by  1905  the  number  had  increased 
from  23.000,000  to  40,000,000,  and  the  number  of  horses  and 
cattle  had  doubled. 

Australia  is  the  native  home  of  the  dry  farmer,  and  land 
which  elsewhere  is  considered  hopelessly  arid  is  here  brought 
into  profitable  bearing.  In  fact,  the  very  dryness  of  the  cli- 
mate is  in  some  ways  an  aid  to  economical  tilth,  especially  as 
regards  the  harvesting  of  the  crop. 

The  dry  climate  is  directly  responsible  for  Australia's 
greatest  single  source  of  wealth — sheep.  The  merino  sheep 
here  reaches  its  highest  stage  of  perfection.  Not  only  has  the 
average  weight  of  the  fleece  been  doubled  since  the  first  impor- 
tation, but  the  quality  of  the  wool  is  unrivaled.  Millions  of  acres 
of  land  which  otherwise  would  be  without  agricultural  value 
are  made  to  produce  a  dividend  when  pastured  with  sheep. 
Succulent  native  herbage  growths  on  the  driest  of  plains  make 
up  for  the  lack  of  drink,  and  the  Australian  sheepman  has 
learned  to  conserve  every  drop  of  rainfall  against  the  day  of 
need.  Merino  sheep  live  and  thrive  on  salt  bush,  pig  werk 
and  tar  vine.  These  varieties  of  herbage  carry  about  eighty- 
five  per  cent  of  water. 

Other  stock  thrives,  but  for  cattle  and  horses  the  coastal 
belt  of  greatest  rainfall  is  most  profitable,  as  Cattle  will  starve 
on  land  where  sheep  find  sufficient  forage.  Furthermore,  in 
this  land  of  great  distances  and  few  railroads,  the  problem  of 
transport  becomes  a  serious  one.  However,  stock  routes  are 
laid  out  and  tended  as  carefully  as  wagon  roads  or  railways. 
They  wind  across  the  country,  taking  advantage  of  every 
known  water  supply.  Streams,  springs,  "billabongs"  and 
"gnamma"  holes  are  used,  for  any  liquid  is  acceptable  in  the 
desert.     They  live  on  what  they  pick  up  along  the  route. 

When  the  distances  for  water  are  too  great,  artificial  sup- 
plies are  provided  and  guarded.     Wells  are  dug,   reservoirs 


44 


AUSTRALIA 


This  is  a  wheat  elevator  near  Adelaide,  South  Australia.  Great 
mountains  of  sacked  wheat  are  to  be  seen  at  almost  all  shipping  points, 
and  the  dry  climate  permits  storage  with  minimum  protection  from 
the  elements. 

built  and  "tanks"  scooped  otit.  W'liere  other  means  fail,  great 
skeleton  buildings  with  immense  roof  areas  are  built  to  catch  the 
scanty  rainfall.  In  order  to  check  evaporation  often  the  reser- 
voirs are  placed  below  the  surface  and  covered  against  the  sun. 

In  New  South  Wales  alone,  6,000,000  acres  have  been  re- 
served for  this  purpose,  and  700  public  watering  places  have 
been  constructed,  three-fourths  of  ihcin  tanks  and  reservoirs. 
In  South  Australia,  routes  extend  from  Port  Augusta  to  the 
borders  of  Queensland  and  Western  Australia  and  into  the 
heart  of  the  Northwest  desert  for  700  miles.  Western  Australia 
maintains  2,000  miles  of  stock  routes  leading  from  inland  sta- 
tions to  cities  on  the  southwest  coast. 

All  this  is  pretty  hard  ou  the  railroads,  but  they  are  owned 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING 


45 


by  the  government.  But  as  the  Itahan  fruit  vendor  said, 
"What  I  lose  on  the  banan'  I  make  up  on  the  peanut." 

Peculiarly  identified  with  the  agricultural  development  of 
Australia  is  the  history  of  its  metals.  Step  by  step  the  agricul- 
turist has  followed  closely  after  the  miner ;  in  many  cases,  in 
fact,  the  erstwhile  prospector  has  laid  aside  his  mining  boots 
and  pick  and  has  taken  up  the  plow.  But,  in  any  case,  the 
farmer  has  come  in  greatest  numbers  to  those  districts  where 
mineral  wealth  has  been  most  abundant.  For  profitable  agri- 
culture depends  to  a  great  extent  on  close  markets,  and  close 
markets  mean  population ;  the  real  growth  of  Australia  truth- 
fully may  be  said  to  date  from  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Commonwealth. 

The  first  definite  record  of  the  discovery  of  gold  is  a  note 
by  James  McBrien,  assistant  surveyor,  made  while  making  a 
survey  of  the  Fish  River  between  Rydal  and  Bathurst,  dated 
February  15,  1823.  Mention  is  also  made  in  the  early  records 
of  New  South  Wales  of  several  other  finds,  but  it  was  not 
until  after  the  California  fever  of  1849  that  real  strikes  were 
made  in  Australia. 

Ballarat  was  opened  up  in  1851,  and  the  following  year 


A  panoramic  view  of  one  of  the  great  steel  works  in  Newcastle, 
which  is  the  Pittsburgli  of  Australia. 


46  AUSTRALIA 

gold  was  found  in  South  Australia  and  Tasmania.  In  1858 
the  rush  had  turned  to  Queensland,  but  it  was  not  until  a  year 
later  that  paying  fields  were  opened  up.  Kimberley,  in  Western 
Australia,  was  discovered  in  1882,  but  it  was  six  years  later 
that  this  district  was  proclaimed  a  gold  field.  Another  six  years 
passed  before  the  sensational  strike  at  Coolgardie.  At  the 
present  time  the  mines  in  \\'estern  /\ustralia  are  the  richest 
on  the  continent. 

Probably  no  other  country  in  the  world  contains  so  great 
a  diversity  of  mineral  wealth  as  does  Australia.  Among  the 
many  metals  and  metalliferous  minerals  found  in  the  continent 
may  be  mentioned,  aluminum,  bismuth,  antimony,  manganese, 
platinum,  tellurium,  lead,  mercury,  wolfram,  nickel,  cobalt, 
iron,  zinc,  tin,  copper,  coal  and  silver. 

Silver  mining  began  in  1841,  in  South  Australia,  when  the 
Wheal  Gawler  mine  was  opened.  Since  then  silver  has  been 
found  in  all  the  states,  either  alone  or  in  the  form  of  sulphides, 
antimonial  and  arsenical  ores,  chloride,  bromide  and  iodide  and 
argentiferous  lead  ores.  The  bulk  of  the  silver  is  found  in 
the  latter  form.  The  largest  mines  are  in  New  South  Wales, 
the  output  of  the  other  states  being  comparatively  small.  It 
is  since  1882,  when  the  famous  Broken  Hill  mine  was  discov- 
ered, that  the  quantity  of  silver  mined  has  been  of  any  great 
importance.  The  Broken  Hill  field  covers  some  2,500  square 
miles  of  territory  and  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the  i)rincipal 
mining  centers  of  the  world.  It  supports,  in  the  desert,  a  city 
of  33,000  people,  a  privately  owned  railroad  250  miles  long, 
and  a  smelter  city  on  the  coast  with  a  jjopulation  of  15,000. 

It  was  in  1846  that  copper  ore  was  first  cxjiorted  from 
South  Australia.  Since  that  date  copper  mining  has  been  one 
of  the  principal  industries  of  the  state.  Since  that  time  ex- 
tensive mines  and  mining  areas  lia\c  been  developed  in  Tas- 
mania, New  South  Wales,  Queensland  and  Western  Australia, 
and  it  is  known  to  exist  in  \'ictf)ria  and  tlic  Northern  'I'erri- 
tory.     Sonic  of  the  l)cst-]).'i\inL,''  mint's  an-  in  'I "asniani.i,  where 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING 


47 


is  situated  the  Blount  LycU  mine,  the  most  proHfic  in  the 
Commonweahh. 

The  fluctuation  of  the  price  of  copper  resulted  in  the  clos- 
ing down  of  many  of  the  lower  grade  mines,  but  the  recent 
revival  of  the  price  has  resulted  in  the  reopening  of  all  but 
the  poorest. 

Tin  was  found  during  the  first  years  of  colonization,  and 
it  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  states,  but  Tasmania  contains 
the  richest  deposits,  the  Mount  BischofT  mine  there  being  the 
richest  in  all  the  Commonwealth.  Queensland,  Western  Aus- 
tralia and  the  Northern  Territory  also  possess  rich  deposits 
of  ore  which  are  being  worked. 

Iron  is  also  distributed  thruout  the  continent  but  lack  of 


Australia's  steel  industry,  which  centers  in  Newcastle,  is  being 
built  up  on  a  strictly  modern  basis.  This  is  one  of  many  blast-furnaces 
now  in  operation  in  Newcastle. 


48  AUSTRALIA 

capital  and  of  transportation  facilities  have  held  back  the  full 
development  of  this  element.  The  successful  handling  of  iron 
depends  to  a  great  extent  on  the  proximity  of  coal,  and  as 
the  two  have  not  been  found  to  any  extent  in  the  same  district, 
the  development  of  railroading  is  the  key  to  the  iron  situation. 
Around  Newcastle,  for  instance,  have  been  found  extensive 
deposits  of  coal,  and  it  has  been  found  cheaper  to  transport 
the  iron  ore  to  be  smelted  there  than  to  reverse  the  operation. 
New  South  Wales  contains  the  most  mines  in  operation,  as 
well  as  the  most  smelteries. 

Extensive  deposits  of  iron  ore  have  been  found  there  in 
the  Mittagong,  Piper's  Flat,  Goulburn,  Queanbeyan  and  Port 
Phillip  districts.  One  of  the  most  celebrated  mines  is  Iron 
Knob,  a  veritable  mountain  of  ore,  containing,  it  is  estimated, 
over  21,000,000  tons  of  high-grade  ore,  66  per  cent  metallic. 
With  coal  deposits  in  the  state  estimated  to  total  at  least  115 
billion  tons,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  future  of  the  steel  industry 
is  assured. 

Until  recent  years  the  extensive  zinc  deposits  have  been 
given  little  attention  except  as  the  metal  occurred  with  silver  or 
other  metals,  chiefly  lead  and  copper.  In  the  Broken  Hill 
mines  a  method  was  developed  for  the  production  of  high- 
grade  zinc  concentrates,  but  elsewhere  the  use  of  the  method 
was  attended  with  little  success.  The  introduction  of  dry 
magnetic  separation  plants  has  rendered  production  profitable 
and  zinc  bids  fair  to  become  an  important  metal.  For  years, 
the  mining  and  reduction  of  zinc  has  been  in  the  hands  of 
Chinese  miners,  with  the  result  that  only  the  surface  workings 
have  been  touched. 

The  bulk  of  the  coal  mined  comes  from  New  South  Wales, 
altho  it  is  also  mined  in  Victoria,  Queensland,  Tasmania  and 
Western  Australia.  It  was  first  discovered  in  1797  in  New 
South  Wales,  at  Coalclifif,  on  the  coast  to  the  north  of  WoUon- 
gong.  Later  in  the  same  year  Lieutenant  Shorllaiid,  while 
pursuing  some  escaped  convicts,  discovered  the  coal  beds  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Hunter  River.  It  was  nearly  thirty  years, 
however,  before  mining  really  commenced.     In   New   South 


AGRICULTURE  AND  MINING 


49 


-^1 


'IS 


Mineral  wealth  in  Australia  is  very  great  and  diversified.  Precious 
stones,  silver,  gold  and  the  baser  metals  are  found  in  paying  quantities. 
The  picture  shows  one  of  the  larger  tin  mines  in  Tasmania. 


Wales  is  also  found  a  variety  of  cannel  coal,  known  as  kerosene 
shale,  the  production  of  which  is  assuming  considerable  pro- 
portions. 

Salt  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  continent,  both  in  the 
form  of  rock  salt  and  in  the  beds  of  dried  or  drying  up 
inland  salt  lakes.  Marble,  limestone,  granite  and  other  build- 
ing stones  are  found  in  various  districts.  The  making  of 
cement  from  the  limestone  is  becoming  an  increasingly  im- 
portant industry.  It  is  also  used  to  a  great  extent  in  the  re- 
duction of  ores. 

Australia,  particularly  New  South  Wales,  ranks  high  in 
the  production  of  precious  stones.     Chief  among  those  found 


50  AUSTRALIA 

are  the  diamond,  noble  opal,  sapphire,  emerald  and  ruby.  In 
Xew  South  Wales  diamonds  to  the  value  of  nearly  a  million 
dollars  have  been  found,  while  noble  opal  of  fully  five  times 
that  value  has  been  mined  in  the  state.  Sapphire  mining  is 
a  paying  industry  only  in  New  South  \\^ales,  altho  the  gem 
is  found  elsewhere. 

It  can  readily  be  seen  from  the  brief  summary  given  that 
Australia  bids  fair  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  United 
States  in  becoming  a  self-maintaining  country.  From  her 
mines  and  her  fields,  she  is  able  to  produce  practically  every- 
thing necessary  not  only  for  life,  but  for  comfort  and  pros- 
perity. All  she  needs  in  order  to  realize  this  condition  to  the 
full  is  population  to  develop  the  industries  which  will  utilize 
the  raw  materials  she  is  able  to  produce. 


■\^   : 


In  a   Victoria   wheat   field   which  yielded 
forty  bushels  to  the  acre. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AUSTRALIAN   INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

THE  basic  industry  of  Australia,  naturally,  is  farming  in  its 
various  phases,  agriculture,  fruit-growing  and  stock-raising. 
Except  in  tropical  Queensland,  the  raising  of  small  grains,  nota- 
bly wheat,  is  the  chief  agricultural  activity.  The  land  and  the 
climate  are  admirably  suited  to  a  crop  requiring  a  l 
long  dry  spell  for  the  proper  maturing  of  the  heads. 
Thrashing  is  always  accomplished  under  ideal  condi- 
tions. Modern  methods  of  farming,  coupled  with 
irrigation  near  the  watered  region,  have  turned  what 


Central  railway  station  in  Sydney. 

was   originally   an    arid    expanse    into    prosperous,    well-tilled 
holdings. 

Portions  which  are  too  distant  for  irrigation,  and  where 
the  rainfall  is  less  than  the  ten  inches  annually  said  to  be  nec- 
essary for  successful  wheat-growing,  are  used  to  an  increas- 
ing extent  for  sheep-grazing  or  are  left  unoccupied.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  a  section  of  Australia  with  an  area  greater 
than  the  United  States  west  of  Denver  has  a  population  of 
less  than  5,000.    This  includes  the  true  desert  land  of  Australia 


51 


D- 


AUSTRALIA 


— if  any  of  it  can  be  called  true  desert,  as  the  soil  practically 
everywhere  is  fertile,  or  can  be  made  so  by  the  application  of 
lime  or  superphosphates.  All  it  lacks  is  the  life-giving  water, 
which  is  what  the  Texas  man  said  Hell  was  short  of. 

In  the  region  of  plentiful  rainfall,  where  the  land  is  too 
broken  for  successful  tillage,  wonderful  pasturage  of  sweet 
grasses  is  found  for  horses  and  cattle,  particularly  the  latter. 
The  dairying  industry  is  becoming  increasingly  important,  and 
the  by-products  of  stock-growing  are  giving  rise  to  many  indus- 
trial projects. 

A'ext  in  importance  to  farming  in  Australia  is  mining,  in 
most  districts  the  miner's  pick  having  literally  dug  the  way  for 
the  agriculturist.  Certain  it  is  that  the  material  prosperity 
brought  by  the  hidden  wealth  of  the  country  has  made  possible 


Australia  has  railroads  in  assorted  sizes — wide,  standard,  and  nar- 
row gauge.  This  road  up  Mt.  Morgan  is  a  standard  gauge,  hut  it  has 
three  rails.  The  middle  rail  is  cogged  and  it  is  used  hoth  for  tractive 
power,  as  the  engines  tcjil  up  the  steep  grades,  and  for  hraking,  when  the 
train  is  coming  down  the  mountain. 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION  53 


A  modern  passenger  train  in  service  between  Melbourne  and  Albury 
on  the  Victorian  railways.  The  passenger  cars  are  bu.lt  on  American 
rather  than  European  lines. 

the  slower  development  of  other  industries  whose  success  de- 
pends upon  closeness  to  markets  and  easy  transportation. 
Mining  has  given  rise  to  many  other  closely  related  in- 
dustries. Wherever  metallic  ore  is  produced  in  commercial 
quantities  are  to  be  found  ore  reduction  plants  of  various 
kinds.  The  government  has  installed  many  plants,  chiefly 
in  the  gold  fields. 

Closely  allied  with  both  farming  and  mining  is  the  lumber- 
ing business,  wdiich,  however,  has  not  been  developed  to  any 
great  extent  in  the  Commonwealth,  altho  great  forests  of  the 
finest  hardwoods  in  the  world  cover — or  have  covered — prac- 
tically all  the  great  coastal  belt.  Like  the  United  States,  Aus- 
tralia has  allowed  the  ruthless  destruction  of  her  timber.  Great 
tracts  have  been  bark-ringed  to  hasten  the  work  of  the  ele- 
ments, or  burned  over  to  prepare  the  ground  for  farming. 

Practically  all  the  trees  are  of  the  eucalyptus  family,  of 
which  there  are  some  three  hundred  varieties  in  the  country. 
In  Victoria  alone  there  are  sixty  varieties,  twenty  of  which 
are  of  commercial  value.  Not  only  is  the  wood  used  for  lum- 
ber, but  the  bark  is  used  for  tanning,  and  from  the  leaves 
comes  the  eucalyptus  oil,  used  so  widely  in  medicine.  From  a 
ton  of  the  bark  of  the  gimlet  tree,  for  instance,  I  learned  that 
they  obtain  416  pounds  of  tannin  extract  and  308  pounds  of 
oxalic  acid. 

In  spite  of  these  great  forests,  however,  Australia  imports 
much  of  its  dressed  lumber,  some  $10,000,000  worth  a  year, 


54  AUSTRALIA 

while  about  half  that  amount  is  exported  in  the  form  of  un- 
dressed hardwoods.  I  noted  with  surprise,  altho  I  had  often 
read  the  statement,  that  very  little  wood  is  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  houses,  galvanized  iron  being  the  chief  roofing  ma- 
terial. The  cost  is  one  reason  for  this,  but  another  reason  is 
the  depredations  of  the  ants.  A  few  varieties  of  native  trees 
are  proof  against  the  boring  of  this  pest,  but  none  of  the  softer 
lumbers  can  long  withstand  its  ravages.  There  is  no  pine  or 
other  timber  that  will  float  south  of  the  equator.  Small  spruce 
pine  trees  from  Canada,  planted  in  Australia,  grow  into  hard- 
wood trees  and  three  times  the  size  they  ever  reach  in  North 
America. 

Timbering  should  more  and  more  become  an  industry  of 
importance  in  Australia,  for  Australian  hardwoods  rival  ma- 
hogany in  beauty  and  susceptibility  to  polish,  and  are  unsur- 
passed in  strength,  durability  and  resistance  to  fungous  and 
insect  attacks.  As  population  increases,  the  establishment  of 
mills  for  the  making  of  dressed  lumber  and  the  organizing 
of  factories  for  the  making  of  furniture  will  become  highly 
profitable  ventures. 

In  fact,  that  is  just  where  Australia  stands  today,  it  strikes 
me,  just  on  the  threshold  of  an  industrial  era.  Up  to  now 
she  has  been  largely  concerned  with  the  production  of  raw 
materials.  Practically  all  her  exports  of  the  past  have  been 
in  the  undeveloped  state.  Her  wool  is  shipped  to  the  spinning 
mills  of  England;  her  untanned  hides  have  been  exported,  to 
be  brought  back  in  the  form  of  shoes  and  leather  goods.  Here 
and  there  over  the  Commonwealth  are  springing  up  litllc 
enterprises  to  turn  raw  material  into  finished  products,  and  as 
man-power  and  capital  are  available,  the  country  is  destined 
to  take  a  great  stride  forward. 

You  will  read  in  the  chapter  on  New  South  Wales  how 
the  city  of  Newcastle  is  being  called  "the  Pittsburgh  of  Aus- 
tralia," because  of  its  growing  steel  plants.  Already  that  steel 
is  being  transformed  into  farm  implements,  tools,  machinery, 
steel  rails  and  all  railroad  appurtenances.  There  are  seventy- 
three  government   railway   and   Iramway   workshops,   turning 


N 


Three  types  of  car  equipment  used  on  Australian  railways.  At  the 
top  is  a  T.  A.  M.  car,  which  corresponds  to  our  Pullman.  The  center  is 
a  wooden  tank  car.  The  bottom  picture  shows  how  sacked  grain  is 
transported  in  open-top  cars.  Australian  freight  equipment  is  of  lighter 
construction  than  the  freight  equipment  on  American  roads. 


56  AUSTRALIA 

out  rolling  stock  in  excess  of  $25,000,000  yearly.  For  this 
purpose  some  steel  is  still  imported,  but  the  amount  since  the 
war  has  shrunk  to  almost  nothing.  It  is  just  a  matter  of  a  few 
years  till  Australia  will  be  competing  in  the  steel  markets  of 
the  world. 

Prior  to  185 1,  there  were  no  manufacturing  establishments 
worthy  of  the  name  in  Australia.  In  1914,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  there  were  15,500  separate  establishments,  giving 
employment  to  337,162  workers,  and  during  the  previous  year, 
191 3,  goods  to  the  value  of  more  than  $300,000,000  were  man- 
ufactured. Practically  every  variety  of  product  was  repre- 
sented. 

Since  the  war  there  has  been  a  slight  period  of  readjustment 
and  a  consequent  depression,  for  Australia  has  suffered  in  this 
respect  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  But  already  a 
healthier  tone  is  creeping  into  industry.  The  war  has 
had  at  least  one  beneficial  result.  Formerly  there  exist- 
ed a  considerable  prejudice  in  the  Commonwealth  against 
home-manufactured  goods.  "Made  in  Australia"  was  accepted 
pretty  generally  as  a  mark  of  inferiority.  The  great  bulk  of 
finished  products  came  from  Germany — in  fact,  Germany  and 
German  citizens  held  a  monopoly  on  the  mineral  production  of 
the  Commonwealth- 

The  war  put  a  stop  to  that,  and  the  Australians,  thrown 
on  their  own  resources  thru  the  interruption  of  transport  facili- 
ties, have  found  that  they  have  not  fared  so  badly  after  all. 
Confidence  in  home-manufactured  articles  has  had  a  most 
salutary  effect  on  the  establishment  of  new  industries  and  capi- 
tal is  more  freely  available  than  at  any  time  in  the  past. 

Australian  manufactories,  however,  have  still  one  more 
handicap  to  overcome.  That  is  the  question  of  labor.  In  the 
chapter  on  the  Australian  government  I  have  tried  to  make 
clear  the  relationship  of  the  state  to  the  people,  how  the  indi- 
vidual feels  that  government  must  do  more  than  govern.  'J'hc 
average  Australian  feels  that  every  political,  social  and  eco- 
nomic ill  can  and  should  be  solved  by  legislation.  The  govern- 
ment is  constituted,  in  other  words,  to  do  the  people's  business. 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


57 


At  present  the  Labor  party  is  in  control,  and  the  labor  unions 
constitute  the  heart  of  the  parly.  So  the  unions  practically  con- 
trol the  executive,  legislative  and  judicial  machinery  of  the 
cities,  states  and  the  federal  government. 

As  a  consequence,  practically  every  detail  of  wages,  work- 
ing hours  and  working  conditions  is  prescribed  by  statute.  The 
Australian  worker,  as  a  whole,  works  shorter  hours  for  higher 
pay  than  any  other  laborer.  In  fact,  it  was  in  Australia  that 
the  "three  sacred  eights"  were  first  promulgated — "eight  hours 
work,  eight  hours  sleep,  eight  hours  play." 

The  recognized  maximum  for  a  week's  work  is  forty-eight 
hours,  tho  in  some  industries  thirty-six  hours  is  considered  full 
time.  In  most  of  the  building  trades  forty-four  hours  is  the 
standard  week,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  figure  will  ultimately 


The  State  Railways'  report  asserts  that  Queensland  owns  thirty 
miles  of  "narrow  gauge"  railway.  Elsewhere  in  the  world  a  railroad  three 
feet  six  inches  in  gauge  is  standard  narrow  gauge.  That  is  the  widest 
gauge  in  Queensland  and  the  narrow  gauge  lines  are  two  feet  wide. 
For  the  most  part,  they  operate  in  the  sugar  cane  districts,  where  diminu- 
tive engines  pull  low  trucks  loaded  with  cane  from  the  fields  to  the  mills. 


58 


AUSTRALIA 


Western  Australia  government  railway  workshops  at  Midland  Junction. 

come  to  be  recognized  in  all  lines.  Even  the  stores  are  com- 
pelled to  abide  by  this  government  regulation.  They  are  forced 
to  close  at  six  p.  m.  on  four  days  of  the  week,  remaining  open 
to  nine  or  ten  on  one  day  and  closing  at  one  o'clock  on  Satur- 
days. Sundays  they  are  closed  all  day.  ( )nly  drug  stores, 
saloons  and  restaurants  are  exempt  from  this  rule. 

The  theory  of  the  minimum  wage  is  in  practical  application. 
The  cost  of  living  is  recorded  in  detail  by  specially  created 
boards,  and  their  findings  furnish  the  basis  for  awards  in 
industrial  disputes,  of  which  there  are  many.  A  living  wage 
is  defined  as  that  which  will  enable  a  worker  of  the  class  to 
which  the  lowest  wage  would  be  paid,  to  maintain  himself,  his 
wife  and  two  children  in  a  house  of  three  rooms  and  a  kitchen, 
with  foofl,  j)],-iin  and  inc.\])cnsivc  but  sullicicnl  in  qnantilv  and 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION  59 

quality  to  maintain  health  and  efficiency,  and  with  an  allow- 
ance for  fuel,  clothes,  furniture,  utensils,  life  and  accident  in- 
surance, union  pay,  books  and  newspapers,  train  fares,  amuse- 
ments and  holidays,  intoxicating  liquors  and  tobacco,  sickness 
and  death,  domestic  help,  religion  and  charities. 

Many  industrial  boards  and  courts  have  been  established 
with  the  purpose  of  adjusting  misunderstandings  between  em- 
ployers and  employed,  but  with  only  indifferent  results,  as  I 
discovered  by  an  investigation  of  the  statistics.  Since  the 
Industrial  Arbitration  Act  of  1912  an  increasing  proportion  of 
"industrial  dislocations,"  as  they  are  called,  have  been  fought 
out.  In  part,  this  condition  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  docket 
of  the  labor  courts  is  overloaded,  but  in  larger  measure  it  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  courts  are  unable  to  enforce  their 
awards  except  those  against  employers. 

This  condition  makes  arbitration  a  very  one-sided  affair 
and  justice  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  served.  In  the  period  of 
increasing  wages  the  courts  were  very  popular  with  the  work- 
ers, but  now  that  the  peak  has  been  reached,  the  workman  is 
beginning  to  echo  the  sentiment  long  entertained  by  the  em- 
ployer, and  in  the  future  some  other  expedient  will  have  to  be 
brought  into  use  if  the  industrial  prosperity  of  Australia  is 
to  continue. 

In  fact,  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  Commonwealth  of 
Australia  has  reached  its  period  of  readjustment,  when  a  new 
conception  of  the  relationship  of  labor  and  capital  must  be 
gained  or  the  industrial  structure  of  the  country  will  fall  into 
chaos.  The  situation  there  is  aggravated  by  the  abnormal  con- 
dition of  the  country.  It  is  an  agricultural  and  pastoral  nation, 
yet  the  bulk  of  its  people  live  in  the  cities,  which  are  growing 
three  times  as  fast  as  is  the  rural  population.  This  means  a 
corresponding  increase  in  the  number  of  people  engaged  in 
manufacturing  and  mercantile  lines — and  more  chance  for 
labor  legislation. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  measure  of  a  country's  industrial 
progress  may  be  taken  in  railroad  miles.  If  that  is  the  case, 
then  Australia  surely  has  progressed  in  the  few  years  of  its 


6o 


AUSTRALIA 


history.  Yet  it  is  still  only  at  the  beginning  of  things.  With 
an  area  greater  than  that  of  the  United  States,  it  has  26,308 
miles  of  railroad,  less  than  one-tenth  the  mileage  in  this  coun- 
try. Furthermore,  there  is  no 
uniform  gauge. 

One  might  jump  to  the 
hasty  conclusion  that,  in  the 
matter  of  railroads  at  least, 
the  United  States  is  ten 
times  as  progressive  as  Aus- 
tralia. However,  when  you 
bear  in  mind  that  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Commonwealth  is 
only  5.000,000,  while  that  of 
the  United  States  is  more 
than  100,000,000,  you  might 
easily  decide  that,  man  for 
man,  Australia  is  twice  as 
progressive. 

The  fact  of  the  matter,  all 
comparisons  aside,  is  that 
Australian  railways  have  been 
developed  under  the  greatest 
handicaps.  Long  distances 
thru  sparsely  populated  dis- 
tricts, great  stretches  of  wa- 
terless desert,  coastal  moun- 
tain ranges  that  shut  off  the 
interior,  lack  of  material  for 
construction,  all  these  and 
more  had  to  be  overcome. 
Added  to  these  was  the  early 
sclf-sufticicnt  attitude  of  each 
of  the  six  states.  Each  was 
jealous  of  its  neighbors. 

The  struggle  was  the  most 
intense  between  the  two  most 


Mr.  I'.  M.  Whytc  of  New  York,  for- 
merly of  Chicago,  the  American  engineer 
appointed  to  the  Royal  Commission  wiiich 
outlined  a  railroad  construction  program 
for  Australia  and  recommended  four  feet 
eight  and  onc-hal  f  inches  as  the  standard 
gauge. 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


6i 


populous  colonies,  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria — between 
the  cities  of  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  really.  Victoria  built  rail- 
roads to  and  along  the  border 
of  New  South  Wales  and 
agreed  to  carry  wool  and  pro- 
duce of  New  South  Wales 
origin  to  Melbourne  at  cost. 
Then  New  South  Wales 
made  ridiculously  low  rates 
from  points  in  Victoria  to 
Sydney.  Queensland  and 
South  Australia  also  indulged 
in  suicidal  rate-cutting. 

One  disastrous  result  of 
this  rivalr}'  was  the  desire  to 
build  rapidly  at  the  expense 
of  future  needs.  Each  state 
solved  its  railroad  problems 
in  its  own  way  and  without 
regard  for  the  interests  of 
its  neighbors,  fearing,  in- 
deed, that  in  serving  its  own 
ultimate  good  it  might  inad- 
vertently benefit  its  neighbor. 
The  first  railroads,  built  in 
most  cases  by  private  enter- 
prise, were  planned  to  fit 
only  local  conditions.  They 
were  short-line  roads,  fre- 
quently narrow-gauge.  As 
the  states  took  over  these 
roads  they  carried  on  the 
plans  as  they  had  been  begun. 

The  result  is  that  while 
the  railways  of  New  South 
Wales  are  of  world  standard 
gauge,    four    feet    eight  and 


Mr.  Harold  W.  Clapp,  Chairman  of  the 
Railway  Commission  of  Victoria,  was  trained 
in  the  United  States.  He  was  a  construction 
engineer  for  the  General  Electric  Company, 
was  with  the  Southern  Pacific  system,  and,  at 
one  time,  a  Vice  President  of  the  East  St. 
Louis  &  Suburban  Railwaj's.  Fifty  j^ears  ago 
his  father  and  mother  went  to  Australia.  His 
father  owned  the  first  street  car  line  in 
Melbourne. 


62 


AUSTRALIA 


one-half  inches,  \''ictoria  has  a  gauge  of  five  feet  three  inches, 
Queensland  and  Western  Australia  railroads  are  narrow  gauge, 
three  feet  six  inches,  and  South  Australia  has  all  three  widths. 
As  a  consequence,  a  passenger  landing  at  Brisbane,  on  the 
northeast  coast,  must  change  to  a  different  type  of  car  five 
times  in  riding  to  Perth,  3,476  miles.  Even  between  the  two 
largest  cities,  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  582  miles,  no  thru  cars 
can  be  operated. 

The  Commonwealth  has  now  undertaken  the  tremendous 
task  of  linking  together  the  dift'ering  elements  of  this  patch- 
work transportation  system.  The  first  step  obviously  is  to 
standardize  the  gauge,  and  many  mechanical  expedients  have 
been  suggested  and  tried  out,  including  slip-axles  and  the  laying 
of  a  third  rail.  But  nothing  short  of  relaying  the  track  stand- 
ard gauge  will  solve  the  problem  for  good.  This  is  no  easy 
matter,  as  it  entails  expense  in  no  wise  warranted  by  the  pres- 
ent earnings  of  the  roads. 

At  the  present  time  most  of  the  railroads  are  still  state 
owmed.     Up  to  June,  1920,  1,732  miles  of  standard  gauge  rail- 


A  view  of  tlic  extensive  railway  shops  and  switcliing  tracks  near  Sjdney. 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION  63 

roads  had  been  built  and  was  being  operated  by  the  Common- 
wealth— at  a  loss,  of  course.  Most  of  this  is  comprised  in  the 
Trans-Australian  Railway,  1,051  miles  in  length,  stretching 
from  Kalgoorlie  to  Port  Augusta. 

The  building  of  this  road  was  unique  in  the  history  of 
railroading.  The  line  was  laid  out  by  compass.  There  are  no 
tunnels,  no  steep  grades,  and  few  bridges  or  culverts  are  re- 
quired. In  all  its  length  no  permanent  body  of  water  is 
crossed.  There  is  one  stretch  of  three  hundred  miles  without 
a  curve — certainly,  a  record  in  continuous  straight  track. 

The  Great  Desert  of  Australia  divides  the  country  into  two 
distinct  parts,  and  Western  Australia  is  as  completely  isolated 
from  its  neighbors  as  if  it  were  a  separate  island.  Until  the 
building  of  the  Trans-Australian  there  was  no  land  communi- 
cation between  this  state  and  its  nearest  neighbor  except  by 
telegraph,  and  the  boat  journey  from  Perth  to  Sydney  requires 
seven  days  on  fast  steamers. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  railway  is  its 
location  in  a  region  uninhabited  even  by  aborigines  and  where 
the  ordinary  engineering  problems  of  grading  and  track-laying 
were  secondary  to  the  providing  of  water.  In  fact,  one  of  the 
most  difficult  of  the  tasks  attending  the  building  of  the  road  con- 
sisted in  establishing  depots  of  water  and  fuel.  The  preliminary 
surveys  were  conducted  by  means  of  camel  transport.  Then 
well-boring  outfits  were  dragged  across  the  sand  by  means  of 
camel  trains  of  fourteen  or  sixteen.  Catchment  basins  and 
shallow  wells  were  dug,  but  in  the  actual  construction  work, 
chief  reliance  was  placed  on  tank  cars  hauled  hundreds  of 
miles  over  the  new  track.  At  certain  points  during  the  con- 
struction period  water  sold  at  two  dollars  a  gallon. 

For  a  long  time,  at  least,  there  can  be  no  hope  that  the  Com- 
monwealth railways  wdll  pay  a  dividend.  There  is  no  doubt, 
however,  that  increasingly  they  will  play  a  prominent  part  in 
the  industrial  development  of  the  country.  In  time  of  war 
the  strategic  value  of  thru-by-rail  transport  can  hardly  be  cal- 
culated. But  for  neither  military  nor  commercial  purposes  can 
the  project  hope  for  any  great  measure  of  success  until  it  is 


64 


AUSTRALIA 


The  suburban  station  at  Stanmore  on  tlic  New  South  Wales  Rail- 
ways. These  stations  are  kept  up  in  a  way  that  would  open  the  eyes 
of  the  railroad  managers  in  the  United  States.  Station  grounds  resemble 
a  public  park. 


possible  to  ship  from  coast  to  coast  without  reloading,  which 
the  present  break  of  gauge  now  makes  necessary.  Not  only  is 
the  cost  of  such  shipping  made  prohibitive  if  carried  by  the 
shipper,  or  a  source  of  loss  if  carried  by  the  government,  but 
it  means  that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  ship  livestock  or  any 
perishable  goods  under  present  conditions. 

In  September,  192 1,  a  royal  commission  appointed  to  inves- 
tigate the  feasibility  of  early  standardization  reported  favorably 
on  the  four  feet  eight  and  one-half  inch  gauge,  and  with  the 
proper  co-oi)eration  between  the  federal  government  and  the 
individual  states,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  work  should  be 
long  delayed.  The  commission,  appointed  by  the  Premier  of 
Australia,  included  two  engineers,  one  an  l'',nglishman,  the 
other  Mr.  V.  M.  W  byte  of  New  York,  formerly  of  Chicago. 
The  rivalry  and  ill-feeling  which  stood  in  the  way  of  stand- 
ardizatifMi  in  the  early  days  has  been  gradually  disappearing 
since  the  forming  of  the  (  ommonwealtli.  and  there  seems  now 
a  genuine  desire  to  get    togellur  on   this   \ilal   pro])kin.      The 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


65 


building  of  the  Trans-Australian  railroad  has  been  a  great 
incentive  toward  a  better  understanding,  being  both  a  moral 
and  an  object  lesson  as  to  what  can  be  accomplished. 

This  changing  attitude  I  found  well  represented  in  the 
views  of  the  newly  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Railway 
Commissioners  of  Victoria,  Harold  W.  Clapp,  who  had 
his  railroad  training  in  the  United  States.  I  found  in 
him  a  broad-gauge  executive  who  has  very  distinct  ideas 
as  to  the  value  of  standardization  as  well  as  unification. 
Mr.  Clapp  spent  seventeen  years  in  close  contact  with  traction 
problems  as  construction  engineer  with  the  General  Electric 
Company,  the  Southern  Pacific  and  the  East  St.  Louis  and 
Suburban  Railways.  His  experience  has  been  with  both  steam 
and  electric  roads,  so  his  viewpoint  is  necessarily  broad.  Com- 
missioner Clapp  attacks  the  break  of  gauge  difficulty  with 
characteristic  American  directness.    "Unification,"  says  he,  "is 


Another  type  of  suburban  station  on  the  New  South  Wales  Rail- 
ways. The  cleanliness  of  the  station  and  environs  is  a  noticeable  and 
attractive  feature. 


66  AUSTRALIA 

the  only  satisfactory  solution.  Third  rails,  adjustable  axles 
and  all  such  expedients  are  inadequate,  both  from  a  technical 
and  from  a  broadly  national  point  of  view." 

In  the  last  few  words,  "a  broadly  national  point  of  view," 
is  the  keynote  to  Air.  Clapp's  attitude,  an  attitude  which  will 
take  the  railroads  out  of  state  politics.  For  in  Australia,  as 
in  the  United  States,  during  the  last  few  years  the  railroad 
problem  has  threatened  to  become  a  political  one  as  w^ell  as 
an  industrial  one.  And  Australian  politics,  I  have  found,  are 
already  in  a  sufficiently  muddled  state. 

There  is  no  alternative  to  railroad  transportation,  as  there 
might  be  in  countries  with  waterways  capable  of  develop- 
ment. The  rivers  of  Australia  amount  to  little  from  a  trans- 
portation standpoint.  Part  of  the  year  most  of  them  are  only 
a  series  of  connected  ponds  and  in  flood  time  they  are  un- 
navigable  torrents  or  spread  over  a  vast  expanse  of  the  flat 
lands.  And  for  hundreds  of  miles  there  are  no  rivers  of  any  sort. 

With  more  than  12,000  miles  of  coast  line,  Tasmania  in- 
cluded, and  with  vast  stretches  of  interior  presenting  extraor- 
dinarily difficult  transportation  problems,  it  was  but  natural 
that  the  first  and  chief  development  of  this  Lonely  Continent 
should  be  in  the  coastal  regions  and  that  water  transportation, 
both  between  communities  in  the  littoral  and  between  the  con- 
tinent and  foreign  lands,  should  play  a  major  part  in  com- 
merce. Organized  coastwise  shipping  dates  from  1851,  when 
the  steamer  Express  began  to  ply  regularly  between  Melbourne 
and  Geelong.  The  first  regular  interstate  service  was  organized 
by  a  company  in  Tasmania  and  carried  passengers  and  freight 
between  ilobart  and  Melbourne.  These  operations  began  in 
1852. 

The  gold  rush  and  the  attendant  rapid  increase  in  popula- 
tion gave  an  impetus  to  this  coastwise  shipping.  In  1862,  regu- 
lar boat  service  was  established  between  New  South  Wales 
and  Victoria.  In  1875,  service  was  inaugurated  between  Ade- 
laide and  Melbourne,  and  thereafter  the  coastwise  trade  devel- 


INDUSTRIES  AND  TRANSPORTATION 


67 


oped  rapidly.  By  the  end  of  191 5,  twenty-three  companies  were 
engaged  in  this  service  with  a  ship  tonnage  in  excess  of  200,000 
tons. 

In  interstate  shipping  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria  lead, 
with  Tasmania  a  very  creditahle  third.  The  total  number  of 
vessels  entering  and  clearing  in  the  interstate  traffic  in  the  year 
1918-19  was  9,615.  Of  this  total  2,863  entered  or  cleared  from 
ports  in  New  South  Wales,  while  the  total  for  Victoria  was 
2,608. 

The  total  overseas  tonnage  entering  and  clearing  Australian 
ports  in  191 3,  a  year  that  is  a  fair  index  to  normal  commerce, 
was   10,601,948  ship  tons.     This  is  about  one-seventh  of  the 


The  modern  elevator  rapidly  is  making  its  appearance  in  the  chief 
shipping  centers.  This  giant  grain  reservoir  is  located  at  White  Bay, 
Sydney. 


68  AUSTRALIA 

total  for  the  United  States,  one-sixth  of  the  total  for  France, 
and  is  practically  equal  to  the  tonnage  entering  and  clearing  the 
ports  of  Norway  in  a  year. 

Naturally,  the  major  part  of  Australia's  oversea  commerce 
is  with  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies.  Of  the  colonies.  New 
Zealand  sends  in  the  most  freight.  The  ship  tonnage  entering 
Australian  ports  from  the  British  Empire  in  1918-19  was 
2,308,393.  The  ship  tonnage  entering  from  the  United  States 
in  the  same  year  was  432,430,  and  from  Japan  148,436.  Ger- 
many, before  the  war,  was  a  factor  in  this  trade,  but  the  British 
Empire  always  has  been,  and  probably  always  will  be.  favored 
with  the  greater  part  of  Australian  commerce.  During  the 
year  in  question  77.24  per  cent  of  the  ship  tonnage  entering 
and  clearing  Australian  ports  was  British. 

Australian  owned  ships  are  an  ever  increasing  factor  in 
overseas  commerce.  From  1904  to  1908  but  7.70  per  cent  of 
the  overseas  tonnage  was  handled  in  Australian  bottoms.  Dur- 
ing the  next  five  years  it  increased  to  8.32  per  cent,  and  in 
1918-19  it  was  up  to  13.85  per  cent. 

The  Commonwealth  owns  and  operates  many  ships  both 
of  steel  and  wood,  which  are  built  in  government  owned 
docks.  The  building  program  formulated  just  before  the  war 
called  for  twenty-four  steel  ships  and  twenty-four  wooden 
ones.  While  the  war  interfered  wiih  this  program,  most  of 
the  steel  ships  have  been  built  and  a  few  of  the  wooden  ones. 
Most  of  these  are  combined  passenger  and  cargo  boats,  about 
520  feet  long,  to  carry  about  12.700  tons  dead-weight,  with  a 
speed  of  fifteen  knots  an  hour.  The  "wind-jammer"  or  sailing 
vessel  still  plays  a  very  important  part  in  Australian  commerce, 
both  between  the  several  states  and  between  the  continent  and 
Asiatic  ports.  The  three-mast  vessel,  equipped  with  auxiliary 
propelling  machinery,  is  a  ])o])ular  craft  and  economically  han- 
dled. Among  the  chief  Commonwealth  navy  yards  arc  those 
at  Williamstown,  Walsh  Island  and  Cockatoo  Lsland.  The 
fact  tbat  the  Commonwealth  engages  in  these  activities  does 


INDUSTRIFS  AND  TRANSPORTATION  69 

not  prevent  private  individuals  and  companies  from  entering 
the  field. 

Melbourne  and  S}(ine)-  are  the  chief  ports  when  judged  on 
the  basis  of  ship  tonnage  entering,  the  annual  total  for  each 
being  greater  than  5,000,000  tons.  Newcastle,  Fremantle,  Bris- 
bane and  Adelaide  rank  in  tonnage  in  the  order  named. 

According  to  the  latest  official  figures  from  the  Common- 
wealth, her  exports  to  the  United  States  in  1918-19  were  valued 
at  approximately  $45,000,000,  about  one-tenth  of  the  total  ex- 
ports to  all  British  countries.  Imports  from  the  United  States 
approximated  $140,000,000  in  value,  a  little  more  than  one-third 
the  total  value  of  imports  from  all  British  countries.  Our 
trade  with  Australia  is  in  finished  products  mostly.  We  send 
more  than  $15,000,000  worth  of  paper  to  Australia  annually; 
about  $15,000,000  worth  of  machinery,  machine  tools,  type- 
writers, sewing  machines,  etc.;  and  more  than  $12,000,000 
worth  of  oils,  fats,  gasoline  and  kerosene. 

The  tariff  system  operates  in  favor  of  the  British  Empire, 
and  while,  in  the  main,  tariff  rates  are  not  as  high  as  in  the 
United  States,  the  Commonwealth  extends  a  reasonable  protec- 
tion to  Australian  industries  and  business. 

Australia  has  an  efficient  navy,  altho  it  is  not  as  large  as 
one  might  consider  expedient  for  a  country  with  so  great  a 
coast  line.  It  is  made  up  of  thirty-two  ships  of  all  classes  and 
seven  submarines.  The  battle  cruiser  Australia,  19,200  tons 
displacement,  is  the  largest  and  most  formidable  war  vessel. 
Light  cruisers  and  torpedo  boat  destroyers  predominate.  Since 
the  visit  of  Lord  Jellicoe  in  1919,  the  Australian  navy  is  being 
developed  in  harmony  with  the  naval  plans  of  the  British 
Empire,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  far-Pacific  unit  of  the  British  navy. 


»*cis  -er^ife.®- 


Ausiialia  furnislies  us  with  that  missing  link  between  modt-iii  pi, mi 
and  animal  life  and  that  which  prevailed  when  the  human  race  was  in 
its  infancy.  Much  of  the  plant  life  is  not  duplicated  elsewhere  in  the 
world  and  the  marsupial  animals  are  singularly  products  of  the  Lonely 
Continent.  It  seems  that  this  vast  area  must  have  been  cut  off  from 
other  lands  many  ages  ago  and  the  climatic  conditions  were  such  that 
the  plant  and  animal  life,  long  since  extinct  in  other  countries,  was 
preserved.  The  opossum  is  the  only  marsupial  animal  found  in  the 
United  States,  while  almost  all  the  animals  native  to  Australia  have  the 
pouch  in  which  their  immature  young  are  carried  until  they  can  fend 
for  themselves.  Of  these,  the  kangaroo  is  most  widely  known.  A 
female  kangaroo,  with  her  offspring  looking  out  on  the  world  from  its 
pouch  cradle,  is  shown  in  the  picture. 


CHAPTER  Y 


THE    STRANGEST    ANIMALS    IN    THE    WORLD 

THE  UNITED  STATES  has  at  least  one  natural  link  with 
Australia — perhaps  he  recognizes  it  in  his  fondness  for 
the  almost-national  song,  "Dixie,"  for  that  link  is  the  opossum, 
famed  in  Southern  plantation  song  and  story.     The  opossum 

is  the  only  living  pouched 
marsupial  outside  Aus- 
tralia. 

Many  of  the  characteris- 
%^jf    "^       ^^  jfijS  I    ^''^  animals  of  Australia — 

V  *.         j.r^mS^-  ^mJBL     Wf^^m.      |-i-,gy   j^j-g   q\\   characteristic 

for  that  matter — have  out- 
side abdominal  pouches  in 
which  the  young  are  car- 
ried from  birth  until  they 
are  old  enough  to  fend  for 
themselves.  The  largest  of 
these,  the  kangaroo,  is 
found  in  practically  every 
part  of  the  continent.  There 
are  four  distinct  varieties 
which  stand,  when  erect, 
well  over  five  feet  in 
height.  The  wallaby,  which 
is  really  only  a  small  kan- 
garoo, is  of  twenty  varie- 
ties, while  there  are  some 
tiny  specimens  known  as 
kangaroo  rats  and  mice,  yet  which  have  all  the  kangaroo  char- 
acteristics except  in  size. 

The  "red"  kangaroo  of  the  inland  is  just  as  likely  to  be 


The  koala  is  Australia's  one  member  of  the 
bear  family.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a  black 
bear  cub  and  looks  more  like  the  "Teddy  Bear" 
of  the  nursery  than  a  real  animal. 


2.^^jf^m 


sssif    '■  "     " 

The  kangaroo  is  one  of  Australia's  best  advcrtisomciits.  Tlicy 
arc  found  in  all  parts  of  the  continent  and  avcrapje  about  five  feet 
in  hcifibt.  When  cornered  the  kangaroo  puts  up  a  real  fight,  strikuig 
viciously  with  bis  hind  legs.  He  is  the  largest  of  the  pouched  ani- 
mals. 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


n 


Twenty  varieties  of  the  wallaby  are  found  in  Australia.    They  are  small 
kangaroos,  found  in  the  swamps  and  foothills. 

bluish  in  color.  This  is  the  kind  formerly  hunted  by  dogs 
and  providing  great  sport,  as  when  brought  to  bay  the  kangaroo 
is  a  plucky  fighter,  either  backing  up  against  a  tree  or  taking 
to  the  water.  While  in  the  water  he  is  more  than  a  match  for 
the  dogs,  who  are  compelled  to  swim.  He  catches  the  dog  with 
his  forelegs,  which  are  not  so  weak  as  they  look,  and  rips  him 
to  ribbons  with  the  long,  dagger-like  nail  of  his  central  hind 
toe. 

The  kangaroo  in  captivity  has  been  taught  to  box,  but  he 
prefers  kicking  as  a  means  of  defense,  using  the  hind  leg  with 
great  force.  When  he  stands  erect  his  long,  heavy  tail  is  used 
as  a  balance,  giving  great  power  to  his  jump  and  acting  as 
a  counterpoise.  He  clears  a  high  fence  easily  and  has  been 
known  to  leap  sixty  feet  forward.  At  a  leisurely  gait  he  looks 
awkward,  but  at  full  speed  he  appears  graceful  beyond  de- 
scription. 

There  is  one  variety  which  is  a  fine  climber,  the  Boongarry 
tree  kangaroo.  He  lives  and  feeds  most  of  the  time  in  the  tree- 
tops,  leaping  as  agilely  as  a  monkey  from  limb  to  limb. 

The  wallaby  is  more  often  found  in  the  swamps  ox  in  the 


74  AUSTRALIA 

rocky  foothills,  while  the  big  kangaroos  frequent  the  plains 
country.  It  is  from  the  wallabies  that  most  of  the  leather  and 
fur  is  obtained. 

Australia  has  but  one  member  of  the  bear  family,  a  curious 
little  creature  about  the  size  of  a  young  black  bear  cub,  known 
as  the  koala.  Its  fur  is  gray,  with  whitish  underparts,  feet  and 
ears.  It  has  cheek-pouches  somewhat  like  those  of  the  chip- 
munk, for  the  storing  of  food.  While  not  easily  domesticated, 
the  koala  is  far  from  ferocious.  He  feeds  at  night,  on  roots  and 
leaves,  sleeping  in  a  tree  during  the  day.  The  mother  koala  has 
a  pouch  for  her  baby  bear — there  is  only  one  cub  at  a  time, 
born  in  the  spring — and  in  this  pouch  it  is  carried  until  old 
enough  to  travel  by  itself,  tho  along  toward  the  last  it  pre- 
fers a  seat  on  its  mother's  back,  holding  tightly  to  the  fur  of 
her  neck.  The  baby  koala  has  a  cry  much  like  that  of  a  child, 
and  on  windy  nights  it  can  be  heard  high  in  the  treetops, 
soothed  by  the  deep  voice  of  the  mother  much  in  human 
fashion. 

There  is  another  Australian  animal  which  has  been  given 
the  name  of  the  native  bear,  but  its  true  name  is  wombat.  It 
is  like  the  koala  in  some  ways,  but  not  much  like  a  bear,  being 
small,  heavy  and  short-limbed,  with  front  teeth  like  those  of 
a  rat,  for  it  is  a  gnawing  animal.  It  also  is  a  burrower  with 
long  and  powerful  claws  on  its  feet.  The  wombat  also  has  a 
pouch  for  its  young. 

Tasmania  has  at  least  one  animal  peculiar  to  the  island,  but 
the  Tasmanians  take  little  pride  in  it.  It  is  the  Tasmanian 
devil,  an  untamable  bundle  of  ferocity  now  practically  extinct. 
In  size  it  is  about  tho  same  as  a  wolverine,  which  it  somewhat 
resembles  in  habits.  It  is  black  and  shaggy,  with  a  head  out  of 
proportion  to  its  body,  and  with  jaws  and  teeth  strong  enough 
to  crush  big  bones.  It  lives  in  a  burrow  like  a  badger,  prowling 
forth  at  night,  a  menace  to  poultry  and  smaller  livestock. 

Queerest  of  all  animal  life  in  Australia — in  the  world,  per- 
haps— is  the  platypus,  or  ornythoryncus.  It  has  the  fur  of  a 
seal,  feet  that  are  as  much  flappers  as  claws,  is  web-footed, 
yet   burrows   cleverly   with   its   awkward-looking   extremities. 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


75 


Here  is  one  ul  the  niu^t  interesting  enigmas  of  llie  annual  world. 
The  platypus  is  at  home  on  land  or  in  water,  it  lays  eggs  but  suckles 
its  young  and  carries  them  in  a  pouch.  This  "room  and  board"  arrange- 
ment leaves  little  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  accommodations  by  the 
young. 


has  the  bill  of  a  duck,  and  lays  eggs,  yet  suckles  its  young. 
Surely  a  bundle  of  contradictions  is  the  platypus ! 

Hunting  and  feeding  in  the  water,  it  sleeps  out  of  it  in 
a  burrow,  the  mouth  of  which  is  under  the  water.  It  feeds 
only  at  night,  puddling  the  soft  banks  and  weed  beds  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  a  duck  fossicks  in  the  mud  of  a  pond.  Altho 
it  has  no  external  ears,  it  has  a  keen  sense  of  hearing,  and  the 
hunter  finds  it  hard  work  to  creep  upon  it  unawares. 

Recently,  investigators  have  discovered  in  the  platypus  some 
glands  which  are  of  interest  to  the  medical  profession,  and 
on  a  reservation  near  Alelbourne  these  strange  creatures  are 
being  artificially  bred  for  purposes  of  research. 

The  spiny  ant-eater  vies  with  the  platypus  in  being  sole 
survivor  of  the  lowest  order  of  mammal  life,  the  monotremes. 
Like  the   platypus,  the  spiny  ant-eater  lays  eggs,   which  are 


76 


AUSTRALIA 


hatched    in    a   pouch,    where   the    young   are    raised   on   the 
mother's  milk.     The  body  of  the  spiny  ant-eater  is  short — 
fifteen  to  eighteen  inches — but  it  is  broad  and  carried  by  strong, 
short  legs  terminating  in  big  claws,  which  are  used  in  tearing 
open  ant-hills  and  other  hiding-places 
of   the   ever-present   Australian   ant. 
The  head  is  small  and  is  prolonged 
into  a  slender  snout  covered  with  a 
moist  black  membrane.     The  tongue 
also  is  long  and  slender,  the  mouth 
being  without  teeth,  tho  the  palate  is 
armored   with    small   curved   spines. 
It  lives  in  burrows,  feeding  on  ants, 
which  it  captures  like  all  other  ant- 
eaters,  by  means  of  its  sticky  tongue. 
The  upper  surface  of  the  head  and 
body   of   the   ant-eater   are   covered 
with   a  mixture  of   short   hairs  and 
stiff  spines.     When  danger  threatens 
it  curls  up  like  a  hedgehog. 

But  not  all  the  queer  creatures  of 
Australia  wear  fur.  Among  the 
feathered  members,  numbering  over 
1,200  species,  there  are  many  to  be 
found  nowhere  else.  Among  these  Australia's  national  bird  is  the  emu, 
is  the  emu,  sharing  with  the  kangaroo  ^^'l^'ch  shares  with  the  kangaroo  the  honor 
.  '.  ^  of  appearing  on  the  coat  of  arms  of  the 

a  place  m  the  national  coat  01  arms,    (jommonwealth. 

It    is    a    rover    of    the   open    plains, 

ranging  to  six  feet  in  height,  practically  wingless  and  covered 
with  gray-brown  feathers,  so  fine  that  lliey  look  like  hair. 
Until  a  few  years  ago  it  was  being  mercilessly  killed  off  for 
its  skin  and  for  its  eggs.  The  eggs,  a  beautiful  myrtle-green 
in  color  and  measuring  about  six  inches  in  length,  were  much 
in  demand  for  use  by  jewelers  for  the  making  of  j^resentation 
cups  and  trophies. 

The  emu  lays  from  eight  to  sixteen  eggs  in  a  nest,  each  of 
them  weighing  about  twenty  ounces.     Altbo  so  large,  they  are 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS  77 

singularly  delicate  in  flavor.  The  emu  always  lays  its  eggs  by 
night  and  in  the  winter,  the  male  bird  sitting  on  the  nest  by 
day  and  otherwise  acting  the  part  of  guardian  and  brooder. 
Fortunately,  Australian  sentiment  has  changed,  and  the  de- 
struction of  these  noble  birds  has  been  stopped. 

There  are  two  birds,  the  lowan,  or  mallee  hen,  and  the 
brush  turkey,  which,  altho  separated  by  the  whole  continent, 
have  hit  upon  the  same  labor-saving  device.  To  them  belong 
the  credit  for  the  first  use  of  the  incubator.  The  lowan  is 
found  in  the  southern  part  of  Australia,  in  the  mallee  lands, 
country  covered  with  a  kind  of  scrub  eucalyptus. 

These  birds  scratch  and  scrape  the  light,  sandy  soil  into 
conical  heaps,  using  their  feet,  wings  and  breast  for  the  work, 
until  they  have  a  circular  mound  some  twelve  feet  in  diameter 
and  from  two  to  four  feet  high  in  the  center.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  nesting  season  the  middle  of  the  mound  is  hollowed  out 
until  the  natural  level  of  the  ground  is  reached.  Here  they 
pack  in  wet  leaves  and  other  vegetable  matter,  the  slow  fer- 
mentation of  which  supplies  the  heat  with  which  the  eggs  are 
hatched.  The  eggs  are  laid  four  in  a  layer,  always  set  in  posi- 
tion with  the  pointed  end  downward.  When  the  layer  is  com- 
pleted it  is  covered  lightly  with  sand  to  a  depth  of  several 
inches,  and  another  layer  begun,  an  egg  each  third  day.  Six- 
teen in  all  are  laid.  Then  the  mound  is  covered  over  and 
rounded  off,  but  about  ten  o'clock  each  morning  the  parent 
birds  flatten  out  the  crest  of  the  mound,  building  it  up  again 
at  night. 

As  soon  as  they  leave  the  shell,  the  young  birds,  with  a 
constant  downward  movement  of  the  feet,  push  their  w^ay 
out  of  the  sand,  beginning  at  once  to  forage  for  themselves. 
They  are  able  to  fly  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched.  The  full- 
grown  birds  are  a  mottled  brown  in  color  and  about  the  size 
of  a  domestic  hen  turkey. 

The  brush  turkey,  co-originator  of  the  incubator  method, 
is  found  only  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  continent.  With 
the  exception  of  the  breast,  which  is  a  bright  yellow,  it  bears 
a  striking  resemblance  to  the  American  bronze  turkey,  having 


AUSTRALIA 


An  ostrich  herd. 


the  same  shape  and  the  same  red,  fleshy  watthng  of  the  head 
and  neck. 

The  brush  turkeys  use  rotted  leaves  and  wood  mould 
for  the  building  of  their  egg-mounds,  which  are  otherwise  much 
like  those  of  the  lowan,  tho  they  scratch  a  separate  hole  for 
each  egg.  From  twelve  to  eighteen  eggs  is  the  full  nest,  but 
frequently  more  than  one  pair  of  birds  will  use  the  same 
mound.  The  outside  of  the  mound  is  usually  dry  leaves,  so 
that  it  requires  less  attention  than  that  of  the  lowan,  tho 
the  male  bird  frequently  tests  the  temperature,  which  remains 
fairly  steady  at  ninety-six  degrees. 

The  chicks  remain  in  the  mound  for  about  twenty-four 
hours  after  they  are  hatched,  during  which  time  they  free 
themselves  of  a  film-like  sheath  that  protects  the  wings  when 
they  leave  the  shell,  which  they  do  not  chip,  shattering  it 
instead  with  a  sudden  strong  wriggle  when  they  arc  ready  to 
leave.  Like  the  young  lowans,  they  are  ready  to  take  care 
of  themselves  at  once,  flying  to  a  convenient  perch  as  if  they 
had  known  how  for  months. 

As  curious  in   its  own  way  as  cither  of  the  lowan  or  the 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


79 


brush  turkey  is  the  second  largest  bird  of  AustraHa,  the  casso- 
wary. It  is  quite  as  heavy  as  the  emu  and  stands  fully  five 
feet  high  when  erect.  It  is  jet  black  in  color,  covered  with 
feathers  so  fine  they  look  like  coarse  hair.  The  head  and 
neck  are  bare,  with  turkey  wattles  and  neck  bells  of  blue  and 
red.  It  has  a  kind  of  helmet,  an  enlargement  of  the  bone  of 
the  skull  covered  with  a  horny  substance.  It  is  a  quarrel- 
some bird  and  when  its  anger  is  aroused  it  makes  dangerous 
use  of  its  wings,  which  are  equipped  with  five  pointed  spines, 
the  middle  one  a  foot  long. 

The  cassowary  is  found  only  in  the  narrow  coastal  belt  of 
northern  Queensland,  where  it  lives  in  the  dense,  jungle-like 
forests,  finding  its  favorite  food  in  the  fruit  of  the  paw-paw 
tree.  The  bird's  scientific  interest  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
doubtless  one  of  the  survivors  of  a  giant  race  of  birds  that 
were  contemporary  with  the  extinct  moa  of  New  Zealand,  the 
largest  bird  of  which  we  have  any  record  since  the  coming 
of  man. 

Probably  no  traveler  has  ever  visited  an  Australian  forest 
without  having  been  startled  out  of  his  wits  by  a  sudden  peal 
of  laughter  greeting  him  from  the  treetops.  His  feeling  of 
consternation  soon  changes,  however,  when  he  learns  its  source  ; 


Brush  turkev. 


Stubble  quail. 


Magpie  goose. 


Wood  duck. 


Topknot  pigeon, 


Mutton  bird,  or  sooty  petrel. 


82 


AUSTRALIA 


it  is  the  kooka  burra,  or  "laughing  jackass,"  a  feathered  com- 
edian who  has  won  the  affection  of  the  Austrahan  people  by  his 
W'hole-souled,  ringing,  rollicking  laugh,  changing  from  shrill 
to  guttural  and  taken  up  by  one  bird  after  another  till  the 
bush  echoes  with  it.  He  belongs  to  the  kingfisher  family,  and 
he  has  an  appetite  as  wide  as  his  laugh,  his  diet  consisting  of 
fish,  insects,  small  lizards  and  snakes.  He  is  probably  given 
more  credit  for  killing  snakes  than  he  deserves,  and  he  is  a 
destroyer  of  young  birds,  both  in  and  out  of  their  nests,  but 
if  you  were  to  shoot  a  "Jack,"  as  he  is  affectionately  termed, 
you  would  probably  be  lynched  by  the  indignant  Australians, 
who  shut  their  eyes  to  his  faults  for  the  sake  of  his  jovial 
company. 

The  birds  of  Australia  are  legion,  and  they  are  noted  for 
their  beauty  as  well  as  their  economic  value.  There  is  the  lyre 
bird,  famous  for  its  beautiful  plumage,  notably  its  harp-shaped 
tail.     Not  so  well  known  to  outsiders  is  its  wonderful  mimicry 


Cassowary,  a  junj;lr  Imd  i;,  :,  ,  ;is  licuy  ;is  {hv  cimi  l)nt  inorc 
stockily  built  and  with  a  mure  warlike  clisi)().sition.  Its  helmet  is  formed 
by  an  enlargement  of  the  skull  bones  and  is  covered  with  a  liorny 
substance.  In  combat,  the  cassowary  makes  {^ood  use  of  its  wings,  each 
of  which  is  furnished  with  five  pointed  spines. 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


83 


■ — it  is  the  one  mocking  bird 
really  worthy  the  name.  Then 
there  is  the  bower  bird,  building 
itself  a  playhouse  of  grasses  and 
bringing  to  it  all  manner  of 
shells  and  stones  and  bright  bits. 
Thirty  species  of  wild  pigeon 
make  their  home  in  Australia 
and  there  are  several  varieties  of 
geese  and  ducks,  wild  turkeys, 
penguins,  and  game  birds  galore, 
which  come  to  their  haunts  in 
thousands,  providing  great  sport 
for  hunters. 

The  smallest  of  the  game 
birds,  the  quail,  is  also  the  most 
popular  with  hunters.  There 
are  some  ten  species,  but  the 
stubble  quail  is  as  widely  distrib- 
uted and  as  well  known  as  our 
"Bob  White"  is  in  the  United 
States.  A  day's  quail  shooting 
over  setters  is  a  compliment 
which  every  hospitable  land- 
owner likes  to  offer  a  visitor  who 

can  handle  a  gun.  As  the  Australian  quails  are  not  migratory, 
and  as  the  stubble  quail  lays  twelve  eggs  to  the  nest  and  raises 
more  than  one  brood  to  the  year,  the  hunter  is  usually  assured 
of  good  shooting. 

No  list  of  the  birds  of  Australia  would  be  complete  without 
mention  of  the  black  swan,  emblem  of  the  state  of  Western 
Australia  and  typical  Australian  water  bird.  Its  flesh  is  ac- 
counted too  rank  for  table  use,  so  it  is  not  truly  a  game  bird 
and  is  now  seldom  shot.  It  is  widespread,  frequenting  sea 
inlets  as  well  as  inland  swamps  and  lakes.  With  its  red 
beak,  ruby  eyes  and  white  wings,  bright  touches  of  color  in 
its  slate-gray  plumage,  it  is  a  picturesque  life  note  of  the  water- 


The  "Laughing  Jackass,"  or  kooka 
burra,  is  a  popular  bird  in  Australia. 
He  belongs  to  the  kingfisher  family. 


84 


AUSTRALIA 


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The  black  swan,  a  typical  Australian  water   fowl.     This  bird  is  used 
on  the  emblem  of  Western  Australia. 


side,  where  amongst  reeds  and  rushes  it  builds  its  nest  of 
boughs  and  lays  from  four  to  eight  eggs  in  a  clutch.  The 
black  swan  takes  very  kindly  to  captivity,  so  it  is  pretty  well 
known  the  world  over. 

Swans  always  change  ground  at  night  to  escape  the  atten- 
tions of  the  wedge-tailed  eagle,  which  Australians  assert  to  be 
the  greatest  eagle  on  earth,  a  claim  fully  justified  in  span  of 
wings,  the  measurements  in  many  specimens  being  as  high  as 
eight  feet. 

Australia  has  one  form  of  animal  life  of  which  its  people 
are  not  particularly  proud,  and  yet  in  this  particular  respect 
the  continent  leads  the  world.  I  refer  to  the  snakes,  (^nly 
four  s])ccies  are  really  deadly,  yet  one  of  llieni,  the  ti.i^er  snake, 
carries  venom  ten  times  as  poisoncnis  as  that  of  the  Indian 
cobra.  The  bite  of  the  death  adder  is  even  more  deadly,  but 
fortunately  it  is  so  rare  that   few  people  have  been  bitten  by 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


85 


it.     The  copperhead  and  the  brown  snake  arc  the  two  other 
poisonous  varieties. 

Usually  associated  with  snakes  in  the  popular  mind  are 
the  lizards,  of  which  Australia  has  a  good  many,  practically 
all  harmless.  In  fact,  the  Australians  feel  very  friendly  to- 
ward at  least  two  of  the  better  known  lizards,  the  one  because 
he  eats  ants  and  the  other  because  he  is  credited  with  making 
away  with  a  goodly  number  of  snakes. 

The  first  of  these,  the  mountain  devil,  is  a  curious  spine- 
and-scale-covered  creature  some  six  or  seven  inches  long.  The 
skin,  which  is  yellowish,  with  reddish  brown  splotches,  absorbs 
water  like  blotting  paper.  The  ants  are  captured  on  its  sticky 
tongue. 

The  big  lizard  of  Australia,  known  as 
the  iguana  in  the  city  and  as  the  "goanna" 


Australian  wild  turkey  or  bustard.    This  is  one  of  the  game  birds 

now   to   be    found   only   in    the    interior,    hunters    having    exterminated 
them  elsewhere.     Eighteen  to  twenty  pounds  is  the  average  weight. 


Speaking  of  the  hen  with  one 
chicken  being  busy,  she  ought  to 
know  how  to  sympathize  with  the 
Australian  penguin,  which  lays  but 
one  egg  and  then  goes  to  work  to 
hatch  it.  Mother  penguin  leaves  the 
nest  only  when  father  penguin  is 
present  to  take  her  place.  The  pic- 
ture shows  mother  penguin  and  her 
newly  hatched  "lone  chicken." 


The  white  Ibis. 


ANIMALS  AND  BIRDS 


87 


in  the  bush,  is  better  known 
perhaps  than  anythinj^  else 
in  their  world  of  reptiles, 
as  it  is  found  all  over  the 
continent.  It  is  a  true 
lizard,  a  flesh-eater,  living 
and  hunting  chiefly  on  the 
ground  but  climbing  the 
high  trees  for  shelter.  It 
has  a  considerable  reputa- 
tion as  a  snake-killer,  and 
the  sheepmen  count  it  a 
friend  for  its  service  in  de- 
stroying   so    many    young 


The    tiger   snake,   one   of   the   most   venomous 
reptiles  in  the  world. 


rabbits  and  other  pests.  However,  it  also  destroys  many  useful 
and  harmless  animals,  notably  the  young  of  birds. 

The  iguana  is  an  egg-layer,  laying  about  a  dozen,  the  size 
of  a  duck  tgg,  which  it  deposits  in  a  hole  burrowed  out  of  a 
rotten  tree  stump,  where  they  are  hatched  out  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun.  The  Australian  stockman  has  a  firm  belief  in  the 
medicinal  qualities  of  "goanna  oil,"  obtained  from  two  masses 
of  yellow,  butter-like  fat,  which  they  extol  as  a  sure  cure  for 
lumbago  and  rheumatism. 

Australia  has  no  big  game  as  North  America  uses  the  term. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  meet  the  lack  by  introducing  red 
deer  and  fallow  deer  from  England,  sambur  and  hog  deer  from 
India  and  Asiatic  buffalo.  The  fox  has  also  been  brought  in, 
much  to  the  regret  of  stock-raisers,  as  in  some  districts  they 
have  proved  as  great  a  pest  as  the  ubiquitous  rabbit.  Last  year, 
when  fox  fur  was  in  demand  at  high  prices,  trappers  on  the 
western  sheep  runs,  using  a  motor  car  to  lay  the  baits,  fre- 
quently picked  up  as  many  as  fifty  foxes  on  one  ten-mile  line 
of  traps. 

Some  serious  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  game 
fish  to  the  waters  of  Australia  with  considerable  success,  tho 
serious  mistakes  have  been  made.  The  mountain  streams  of 
southeast  Australia  and  Tasmania  are  well  stocked  with  Euro- 


AUSTRALIA 


pean  brown  trout  and  American  rainbow  trout,  which  have 
done  wonderfully  well,  ranging  to  ten  and  twelve  pounds  about 
the  river  mouths,  tho  in  the  headwaters  six  pounds  is  counted 

a  good  catch. 

The  Murray  "cod,"  a 
giant  bass  running  from 
t  w  e  n  t  y  to  a  hundred 
pounds  in  weight,  and  the 
golden  perch  are  now 
common  in  such  inland 
streams  as  the  Alurray 
and  its  branches,  but  not 
satisfied  with  such 
angling,  sportsmen  have 
introduced  English  perch 
and  carp,  poor  stuff  both 
from  a  table  and  a  rod 
standpoint. 

The  sea  provides  some 
excellent  fish,  the  gamiest 
being  the  mullaway,  or 
king  fish,  ranging  up  to 
fifty  and  even  seventy 
pounds.  The  average 
angler,  however,  is  more 
interested  in  the  sea- 
snapper,  a  fine  red  bream 
frequently  weighing  a  s 
high  as  thirty  pounds  and 
one  of  the  finest  tabic 
fish  in  the  world.  There 
is  the  sea  whiting,  too,  a 
fish  of  delicate  flavor,  col- 

The  ipuana,  or  "goanna,"  as  it  is  known  in  """C"    much    like    a    fresh- 

tho   t)ush,   is    found   in   all    parts  of   Australia.  water  trout,  and  the  pike, 

.Many  believe  that  poanna  oil  is  a  cure  fur  lum-  r                   ■         r   i        r 

bago  and  rheumatism.  ■''    siu-facc-rangmg    hsli   of 


Mr.  Ben  Boyce,  son  of  the  author,  doing  a  little  research  work  on  a 
goanna,  which  he  encountered  on  an  excursion  in  the  bush. 


90 


AUSTRALIA 


good  size  and  fight,  caught  by  trolling  from  a  boat. 
The  mammals,  birds,  reptiles  and  fish  mentioned  are  neces- 
sarily but  a  few  of  the  many  species  and  subspecies  inhabiting 
the  continent.  The  animal  life  of  Australia,  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  white  man,  was  a  little  world  by  itself,  remarkably 
complete  so  far  as  the  oddities  of  Nature  are  concerned,  but  re- 
markably lacking  in  those  animals  man  has  domesticated  and 
molded  to  his  own  use. 


The  mountain  devil,  native  of  Western  Australia. 


CHAPTER  VI 


TASMANIA 

TASMANIA  is  a  heart-shaped  island  about  a  hundred  miles 
long  and  two  hundred  miles  across  at  its  widest  spot.     It 
.lies  off  the  southeast  corner  of  Australia  and  is  by   far  its 
smallest   state,   having  an  area  of   26,215   square  miles;    113 
states  of  its  size  could  be  carved  out  of  Australia. 

Abel  Tasman,  a  Dutch  navigator,  was  trying  to  find  a  great 
continent  in  the  South  Pacific  when  he  happened  upon  Tas- 
mania in  1642.  When  he  sighted  the  land  he  mistook  it  for 
the  mainland,  down  whose  coast  he  had  sailed  without  sighting 
it.  He  named  it  Van  Dieman's  Land,  after  the  superior  officer 
who  had  sent  him  on  the  expedition.  Satisfied  that  he  had 
accomplished  his  mission,  Tasman  kept  on  east  and  so  discov- 
ered New  Zealand. 

But  little  was  thought 
of  his  discovery  of  Tas- 
mania, as  it  was  thirty 
years    before    any    other 


A  Tasmanian  homestead  in  the  bush 
country. 


92  AUSTRALIA 

white  set  foot  on  the  island.  It  was  a  Frenchman  this  time. 
Like  those  who  followed  him  he  made  only  the  most  casual 
investigations  and  then  went  on.  It  was  not  until  1798  that  a 
British  lieutenant.  Flinders,  sailed  around  the  island  and 
learned  that  it  was  not  a  part  of  the  mainland  after  all.  Five 
years  later,  in  1803,  the  first  white  settlement  was  made;  the 
following-  year  Great  Britain  officially  took  it  over  and  made  of 
it  a  penal  colony  for  lawbreakers  who  had  been  sentenced  to 
deportation  from  England.  This  was  after  the  thirteen  Amer- 
ican colonies  could  no  longer  be  used  as  a  country  to  receive 
deported  undesirables. 

Our  party  came  to  Tasmania  from  Melbourne,  a  fourteen- 
hour  run  across  Bass  Strait,  200  miles  wide.  We  were  landed 
at  Launceston,  forty  miles  from  the  open  sea  up  the  Tamar 
River.  The  Tamar  is  wide,  but  shallow,  ships  which  draw 
more  than  fifteen  feet  of  water  cannot  reach  Launceston  ex- 
cept at  high  tide.  Our  ship  had  scarcely  been  warped  into  her 
wharf  before  I  realized  that  we  had  come  to  a  land  largely  in- 
terested in  tourists.  We  came  down  the  gangplank  into  a  veri- 
table mob  of  porters,  cab  drivers,  and  guides,  who  welcomed 
us  with  a  fervor  they  did  not  display  toward  those  w'ho  were 
unmistakably  Australians.  Before  the  war  tourists  poured 
about  a  million  and  a  quarter  dollars  into  the  island  every 
year  and  they  are  just  beginning  to  come  back  again. 

Launceston  is  a  pretty  town  of  almost  twenty-five  thousand 
people.  It  is  the  port  from  which  the  fruit  of  northern  Tas- 
mania is  shipped  down  the  Tamar  and  sent  to  the  mainland 
or  abroad.  There  was  a  time  when  Tasmanian  fruit,  and  es- 
pecially the  jam  which  was  made  from  that  fruit,  was  world 
famous.  But  when  the  Commonwealth  was  formed  Tasmania 
rather  lost  her  identity,  especially  since  a  law  was  passed  that 
every  box  of  fruit  or  jar  of  jam  or  marmalade  must  bear  a 
label  stating  that  it  was  made  in  Australia.  Of  course,  Tas- 
manians  objected  strenuously  to  having  Australia  get  credit 
for  fruit  and  jams  for  which  Tasmania  had  built  a  reputation, 
but  the  law  remains  unchanged.  However,  the  1'asmanians 
have  done  what  thcv  can  to  evade  it.     If  V(»ii  will  Itiok  at  cases 


TASMANIA 


93 


Launceston  is  the  port  of  the  rich  lands  of  northern  Tasmania,  from 
which  is  shipped  much  of  the  fruit  for  which  the  island  state  is  farnous. 
It  is  forty  miles  from  the  open  sea  and  to  reach  it  ships  must  navigate 
the  tortuous  course  of  the  wide  but  shallow  Tamar  River.  Ships  that 
draw  more  than  fifteen  feet  of  water  go  in  and  out  only  when  the 
tide  is  full. 


of  fruit  from  the  island  you  will  see  the  word,  "Australia,"  is 
there — in  very  small  letters — but  that  "Tasmania"  is  given 
plenty  of  prominence. 

All  along  the  railway  line  from  Launceston  to  Hobart  I 
saw  orchard  after  orchard  where  the  fruit  was  spoiling  on  the 
trees  or  rotting  on  the  ground.  On  the  wharf  at  Launceston 
I  had  seen  great  stacks  of  cases  of  fine  fruit  for  which  there 
was  no  shipping  and  no  room  in  the  great  warehouses,  which 
were  already  stacked  to  the  rafters.  I  found  the  same  condi- 
tion at  Hobart.  There  was  a  shipping  strike  on  and  not  suffi- 
cient boats  had  been  sent  to  the  island  to  carry  away  the  car- 
goes. In  view  of  this  condition,  I  was  not  surprised  to  find 
the  fruit-growers  in  a  pessimistic  frame  of  mind.  In  ordinary 
years  the  fruit  crop  has  a  value  of  some  two  million  dollars ; 
1,500,000   bushels    of    apples,    150,000   bushels   of    pears    and 


94 


AUSTRALIA 


50,0CK)  bushels  of  apricots  is  about  the  average  annual  produc- 
tion.   Some  36,000  acres  are  devoted  to  fruits. 

That  trip  from  Launceston  to  Hobart,  the  capital,  is  not 
one  I  would  commend  to  comfort-loving  travelers.  The  750 
miles  of  railroad  in  the  island,  of  which  the  state  owns  590 
miles,  is  all  of  the  narrow  gauge  variety,. three  feet  six  inches 


Tasmania  makes  the  most  of  its  tourist  traffic.  "The  Gorpc," 
shown  in  the  picture,  is  the  most  noted  scenic  attraction  near  Launceston, 
and  every  tourist  who  visits  it  must  pay  toll  at  tlie  turnstile,  whicii  can 
be  operated  only  with  a  two-cent  coin. 


TASMANIA  95 

wide.  The  road  winds  about  a  great  deal,  following  the  natural 
slope  of  the  country.  The  running  time  is  comparable  only 
to  the  notorious  "slow  train  thru  Arkansas,"  which  has  been 
of  such  inspiration  to  jokesmiths  in  the  United  States.  It 
takes  seven  hours  for  the  "fast  express"  to  make  the  121  miles, 
while  the  night  train  does  it  in  ten  hours. 

Any  one  in  a  hurry  to  get  from  one  city  to  the  other  does 
it  by  motor,  four  hours  being  average  running  time  over  the 
splendid  roads.  These  roads  were  built  almost  three-quarters 
of  a  century  ago  by  convict  labor.  It  must  have  been  slow  and 
laborious  construction,  as  in  many  places  they  have  a  base  that 
was  laid  to  a  depth  of  four  feet. 

Long  ago  some  of  the  cities  on  the  mainland  started  the 
report  that  Tasmania  was  provincial  and  slow,  and  the  Tas- 
manians  have  heard  this  accusation  so  much  that  they  believe 
it.  Strolling  about  the  streets  of  Hobart  after  dinner  to  watch 
the  people  at  their  recreation,  I  was  most  forcibly  reminded 
of  the  middle-sized  towns  to  be  found  all  over  the  United 
States  twenty  years  ago.  The  street  cars  are  mostly  ponder- 
ous, antiquated,  double-decked  affairs,  tho  a  few  new  ones 
are  in  service.  The  automobiles  are  usually  small,  except 
for  the  huge  busses  for  tourists.  Many  old-fashioned  carriages 
and  tallyhos  were  to  be  seen. 

In  Hobart  are  to  be  bought  books  that  purport  to  tell  the 
true  story  of  convict  days  in  Tasmania.  The  state  generally 
is  not  proud  of  this  blot  on  its  'scutcheon — the  fact  that  until 
1852  it  was  the  site  of  penal  colonies  for  men  and  women — 
and  mere  children,  too — who  were  not  deemed  fit  to  live  in 
the  mother  country,  England,  and  were  sent  thousands  of 
miles  across  the  seas  to  spend  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
But  Tasmania  is  not  averse  to  capitalizing  what  remains  of  the 
institutions  of  those  black  days. 

In  the  United  States  some  people  have  seen  in  river  and 
ocean  ports  the  convict  ship  "Success,"  a  great  grewsome  hulk 
of  dark,  dank  cells,  of  cruel  chains  and  leg-irons  and  other 
means  of  curbing  the  unruly.    For  half  a  century  she  has  been 


96 


AUSTRALIA 


voyaging-  from  port  to  port,  exhibiting  her  horrors.  It  is 
mighty  poor  advertising  of  conditions  long  past. 

At  Port  Arthur  still  stand  the  buildings  of  the  peniten- 
tiaries which  were  constructed  by  the  convicts  themselves  out 
of  great  stones.  A  fee  is  charged  to  inspect  them  now  and 
in  normal  years  thousands  pass  thru  the  great  halls  and  dismal 
cells,  accompanied  by  guides,  who  explain  the  uses  to  which 
the  various  buildings  were  put.  Not  even  the  most  vivid 
imagination  can  bring  up  any  stronger  picture  of  penal  days 
than  one  can  get  from  reading  a  few  of  the  official  records  of 
the  punishments  administered  for  trivial  offenses.  Twenty  to 
thirty  lashes  for  stepping  out  of  line,  or  for  having  a  potato ; 
six  days  in  a  dark  underground  cell  on  bread  and  water  for 
talking  back  to  a  guard  or  for  not  eating  all  the  food  placed 
before  a  prisoner ;  a  month  at  hard  labor  in  chains  for  talking 
after  being  locked  in  a  cell — these  are  but  mild  samples. 

Down  where  the  peninsulas  of  Tasman  and  Forestier  are 
joined,  the  connecting  link  of  land  is  called  Eaglehawk  Neck. 
It  is  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  across  at  its  narrowest 
point  and  the  waters  at  each  side  are  infested  with  sharks.  In 
these  two  features,  the  narrow  width  and  the  sharks,  the 
guards  saw  a  means  of  holding  their  miserable  prisoners  within 


This  treadmill,  in  the  days  when  Tasmania  was  a  penal  colony, 
was  used  to  turn  a  gristmill.  It  was  operated  by  convicts  and  tlie  heavy 
cleats  are  deeply  grooved,  having  been  worn  down  by  the  feet  of  the 
men  who  walked  many  weary  miles  on  the  machine  without  advancing. 


TASMANIA 


97 


This  is  a  view  of  a  bush  farm  in  Tasmania.  The  trees  give  one 
an  idea  of  the  vast  amount  of  clearing  which  the  settler  must  do  before 
he  can  cultivate  his  land.  The  settler  often  "ringbarks"  the  trees  on  a 
large  tract,  permitting  them  to  die,  and  then  burns  over  the  area. 

the  confines  to  which  they  were  restricted.  Across  this  neck 
of  land  was  posted  a  Hne  of  sentries,  day  and  night,  and  near  by 
a  Hne  of  fierce  dogs,  bull  and  mastiff,  were  so  chained  that 
each  of  them  could  reach  within  six  inches  of  his  neighbor  on 
either  side.  It  was  indeed  a  desperate  runaway  who  would  brave 
the  sharks,  the  dogs  or  the  bullets  of  the  sentries.  Despite  all 
these  precatitions,  however,  some  of  the  more  stout-hearted 
convicts  did  escape.  One  tied  seaweed  about  his  body  and  slowly 
swam  out  and  across  the  cove,  walked  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  and  hid  himself  aboard  a  ship.  Five  years  later  he  was 
returned  from  England  and  died  in  a  Tasmanian  prison  camp. 
The  punishment  of   those   who  attempted   to   escape   was 


98  AUSTRALIA 

severe.  I  saw  a  treadmill  used  to  turn  a  gristmill,  which  was 
operated  by  the  feet  of  com-icts.  It  was  a  heavy,  cumbersome 
affair  and  the  bare  feet  of  the  prisoners  had  worn  grooves  in  the 
hard  wood,  where,  two  abreast,  they  tramped  hours  at  a  time. 
To  be  sentenced  to  the  treadmill  was  punishment  calculated  to 
break  the  spirit  of  the  toughest. 

To  me  the  few  extracts  I  read  from  the  books  oft'ered  the 
tourist  were  sickening  in  the  extreme ;  he  must  be  morbid 
indeed  who  would  revel  in  their  horrors.  If  even  a  small 
portion  of  what  they  tell  is  true  I  am  glad  that  the  world  has 
so  far  progressed  that  brutality  is  no  longer  considered  an 
essential  part  of  the  punishment  of  the  wrongdoer.  In  justice 
to  the  men  who  ruled  these  convict  settlements  it  must  be 
pointed  out,  however,  that  they  were  far  from  home,  and  they 
were  in  the  midst  of  characters  who  would  hesitate  at  nothing 
to  obtain  their  liberty,  altho  many  were  political  prisoners. 
Outnumbered  as  the  guards  were,  discipline  had  to  be  main- 
tained. 

Tasmania  has  other  curiosities,  and  I  was  more  deeply  inter- 
ested in  them  than  in  the  relics  of  past  barbarity.  It  would 
seem  as  if  Nature  was  in  a  playful  mood  when  she  fashioned 
tbe  island,  for  here  are  to  be  found  animals  the  like  of  which 
are  nowhere  else  in  the  world,  nor  lla^■c  ihcy  been  found  else- 
where in   fossil  form. 

Of  them  all  I  believe  that  the  platypus  is  the  weirdest  mix- 
ture of  contradictions.  It  looks  like  a  seal  but  is  web- footed ;  it 
has  a  tail  like  a  beaver  and  a  bill  like  a  duck;  it  lays  eggs  but 
it  suckles  its  young.  It  was  branded  a  fake  when  a  stuffed  one 
was  fir.st  exhibited  in  England. 

"1  should  like  very  nuich  to  sec  a  Tasmanirin  devil,"  said  T 
to  one  man. 

He  drew  himself  up  proudly,  looked  me  in  the  eye  and  said 
without  the  least  hesitation:  "I  am  a  I'asmanian  devil,  the 
original  Tasmanian  devil,  if  you  want  to  know." 

Somehow  I  lost  confidence  in  that  man  riglit  then,  for  I 
knew  that  a  "I'asmanian  devil"  is  a  queer  four-legged  animal 


TASMANIA 


99 


One  of  the  finest  buildings  in  Tasmania  is 
the  town  hall  and  postoffice  in  Hobart.  The 
tower,  clock  and  chimes  were  added  to  the 
building  as  a  memorial  to  the  late  Queen 
Victoria. 


about  the  size  of  a  dog, 
dark  lirown  and  with  a 
vicious  face. 

The  Tasmanian  wolf,  so 
called,  is  about  like  our  wild 
cat,  and  the  Tasmanian 
tiger  is  a  savage-looking 
creature  resembling  a  coy- 
ote but  with  dark  stripes 
across  his  back  and  hips. 
The  female  has  a  pouch  in 
which  to  carry  her  young, 
which  seems  to  be  charac- 
teristic of  the  animals  in 
this  part  of  the  world. 

Australia  is  noted  for  its 
many   varieties   of   snakes, 

and  they  are  the  worst  in  Tasmania,  where,  strangely  enough, 
the  farther  they  are  from  the  equator  the  more  poisonous  they 
arc.  All  the  snakes  in  Tasmania  are  poisonous,  tho  only  five 
kinds  are  actually  deadly. 

Tasmania  has  much  other  animal  life,  not  so  interesting 
to  the  naturalist  perhaps,  but  certainly  more  appealing  to  the 
sportsman.  The  hunting  and  fishing  are  excellent ;  the  seasons 
are  carefully  fixed  by  law  and  violators  are  severely  punished. 
There  is  no  big  game  to  be  hunted,  but  the  native  bear,  a 
brown-furred  little  rascal  about  the  size  of  a  young  black  bear 
cub,  affords  rare  sport  to  those  who  seek  him  in  his  mountain 
home.  As  our  train  wound  its  way  around  the  hills  I  saw  a 
few  of  these  bears  asleep  in  the  forks  of  trees  and  apparently 
undisturbed  by  the  noise  of  our  passing.  When  the  mother 
bear  travels  the  young  one  goes  along  by  riding  on  her  back 
and  clinging  tightly  to  the  fur  of  her  neck. 

The  mutton  bird,  which  also  is  protected  except  for  a  few 
wrecks  in  the  year,  is  another  fowl  much  sought.  It  breeds 
near  the  sea.  Mutton  bird  catching,  however,  is  far  from 
exciting  sport,  as  the  young  birds  can  be  run  down  by  a  man 


lOO 


AUSTRALIA 


afoot  and  knocked  over  with  a  stick.  The  flesh  is  considered 
excellent  and  cooked  down  in  its  own  fat  will  keep  for  a  long 
time. 

Like  other  parts  of  Australia,  Tasmania  is  overrun  by  rab- 
bits. ]\Iiles  of  rabbit-proof  fencing  are  required  to  keep  these 
pests  out  of  the  crops.  Hunting  them  is  not  exactly  considered 
as  a  sport,  but  they  form  a  staple  article  of  diet  on  the  tables 
of  the  poor.  In  Launceston  I  saw  the  man  who  supplies  most 
of  the  rabbits  to  the  town.  He  was  driving  a  "j inker,*'  a  two- 
wheeled  cart,  and  it  was  literally  weighted  down  with  bunnies. 
For  two  cents  more  than  the  customary  price  he  skinned  and 
dressed  the  rabbit  while  the  customer  waited.  As  a  result  his 
"j inker"  was  trailed  by  a  horde  of  dogs,  waiting  for  a  chance 
at  the  parts  he  throws  away.  Their  yelping  was  a  constant 
advertisement  for  the  rabbit  man. 

In  the  museum  at  Hobart  I  saw  the  skeleton  of  Truganini, 
the  last  of  the  aborigines  of  the  island.     She  died  in  1876,  the 


ll'jb.irt  is  the  capital  of  Tasmania.  It  was  [(niiukd  in  1>S0-1  ;nul  now 
has  a  population  of  40,000.  The  suburbs  are  l)iiilt  on  sloi)in>;;  liills  and 
from  them  one  gets  many  entrancing  views  of  the  harbor  and  city. 


TASMANIA 


lor 


Ocean  docks  at  Hobart. 


last  survivor  of  a  race  that  once  numbered  thousands.  Less 
than  a  hundred  years  of  European  civilization  destroyed  them. 
From  all  over  the  world  scientists  who  are  interested  in  the 
evolution  of  the  human  race  have  come  to  Hobart  to  gaze  upon 
the  skeleton  of  Truganini,  to  measure  her  bones  and  seek  other 
data  buried  in  the  past  and  unrecorded  history  of  the  black- 
fellows. 

In  the  days  when  Tasmania  was  only  a  small  colony  and 
the  blacks  were  exceedingly  troublesome,  in  1830,  to  be  exact, 
the  white  settlers,  to  the  number  of  3,000,  organized  a  hunting 
bee  in  which  all  the  natives  were  killed  with  the  exception 
of  200,  who  were  placed  on  a  reservation  where,  a  score  of 
years  later,  only  forty  remained.  Truganini  was  the  last  of 
these. 

We  had  not  been  long  in  Hobart  before  I  learned  that  horse 
racing  is  the  national  sport  of  the  Tasmanians ;  in  no  other 
state  of  the  Commonwealth  is  it  so  popular.     Hobart  is  the 


I02  AUSTRALIA 

headquarters  of  the  notorious  gambhng  ring  known  as  Tatter- 
sail's.  It  is  licensed  by  the  state  government  and  thru  its  hands 
pass  millions  of  dollars  each  year.  The  government  receives 
in  stamp  duties  and  a  dividend  tax  $125,000  a  year.  Chances 
are  sold  on  the  horses  entered  in  eighteen  of  the  big  meets  in 
Tasmania  and  on  the  mainland.  Two  million  tickets  are  sold, 
at  one  or  two  dollars  each,  and  Tattersall's  keeps  ten  per  cent 
of  the  money  as  a  commission.  On  the  Melbourne  Cup,  the 
greatest  race  in  Australia,  the  first  prize  is  $50,000,  divided 
among  holders  of  two-dollar  tickets. 

You  can  buy  a  Tattersall's  ticket  almost  anywhere  in  Aus- 
tralasia, but  you  do  not  get  the  ticket  at  the  time.  You  give  a 
mail  address  to  which  it  may  be  sent  and  you  are  paid  your 
winnings  the  same  way  about  a  week  after  the  race.  To  give 
an  assurance  of  honesty  to  the  drawing  it  is  done  by  an  official 
of  the  Tasmanian  government  and  there  never  has  been  any 
question  of  fairness. 

Other  states,  however,  do  not  look  with  favor  upon  the 
institution,  and  in  Xew  Zealand  it  is  under  governmental  ban. 
Mail  there  addressed  to  Tattersall's  or  to  any  known  agent 
is  destroyed,  and  the  postal  authorities  hold  up  letters  which 
they  have  reason  to  believe  come  from  Tattersall's. 

Tasmania  has  a  wealth  of  timber,  but,  like  most  new  coun- 
tries, it  is  prodigally  wasting  it.  As  our  train  wound  thru  the 
country  there  was  evidence  on  every  hand  that  fine  timber  was 
being  ruthlessly  de.stroyed  to  clear  it  for  agriculture.  We  passed 
miles  and  miles  of  forests,  every  tree  of  which  had  been  ring- 
barked  in  order  to  hasten  the  work  of  destruction.  With  its 
bark  circled  close  to  the  ground  by  ax  cuts  the  tree  is  deprived 
of  the  sap  so  essential  to  its  life;  in  Tasmania  it  dies  and  falls 
within  a  few  months.  Wood  is  so  plentiful  that  usually  the 
fallen  tree  is  merely  burned  up  and  no  effort  to  save  any  of 
it  is  made.  It  is  a  bleak  landscajje  that  those  hundreds  of  acres 
of  blackened  stumps  make. 

Virtually  everywhere  in  Tasmania  these  great  forests  are 
to  be  found.  The  tall  timber  trees  grow  from  the  water's  edge 
at  sea  level  to  an  altitude  in  the  mountains  of  4,000  feet  above 


TASMANIA 


103 


sea  level.  Trees  of  great  dimensions  tower  over  the  lesser 
undergrowth  on  plains,  valleys,  hills  and  mountain  slopes.  Of 
the  16,778,000  acres  in  the  island  there  are  only  75,500  occupied 
by  lakes  and  535,000  acres  of  cultivated  land.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  barren  areas  on  the  tops  of  mountains  the  rest 
of  the  country  is  a  virgin  forest. 

There  are  innumerable  varieties  of  eucalyptus,  one  variety 
of  which  is  the  Tolusa  blue  gum,  which  often  grows  to  a 
height  of  300  feet.  Many  of  these  trees  have  no  branches 
within  150  feet  of  the  ground  and  at  the  base  they  measure 
forty  feet  in  circumference.  Beams  a  hundred  feet  long  and 
two  feet  square  are  easily  obtainable  from  the  trees  in  these 
forests.    The  wood  is  strong,  dense  and  durable  and  so  heavy 


A  log  from  a  giant  Tolusa  gum  tree.  This  is  a  species  of  the 
eucalyptus  tree  and  some  of  them  grow  to  extraordinary  height,  the 
average  being  about  150  feet.  This  wood  is  very  strong,  resists  well 
both  fire  and  water,  and  is  immune  from  the  attacks  of  boring  insects, 
which  quickly  riddle  other  woods. 


I04  AUSTRALIA 

it  sinks  in  water.  It  will  last  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  rail- 
road ties  or  paving  blocks;  its  strength  is  double  that  of  our 
oak  and  it  is  immune  from  the  attacks  of  the  great  white  ants 
and  other  borers  which  destroy  the  average  timber  in  a  short 
time. 

Tasmania  does  a  great  business  in  timber  and  dressed  lum- 
ber. The  wharfs  at  her  ports  are  vast  piles  of  lumber, 
brought  into  the  cities  on  small  sailing  vessels  from  all  around 
her  coasts.  You  see  a  procession  of  one-horse  wagons  hauling 
it  away  to  the  local  lumber  yards ;  you  see  great  cranes  loading 
it  into  vessels  for  shipment  out  of  the  country.  Ships  that 
bring  coal  to  Tasmania,  chiefly  from  Newcastle,  New  South 
Wales,  take  away  lumber.  Tasmania  has  little  coal  of  her  own, 
and  what  she  does  mine  is  of  poor  quality,  so  mostly  wood  is 
burned  or  coal  from  the  mainland.  In  the  near  future,  how- 
ever, the  imports  of  coal  will  drop,  as  there  is  an  abundance 
of  prospective  water  power  in  the  five  sites  which  have  been 
chosen  by  the  government  for  hydro-electric  development. 

It  is  said  that  216,000  horse  power  can  be  developed  at 
these  sites  now,  with  the  possibility  of  increasing  it  to  500,000 
horse  power  ultimately.  The  one  scheme  which  is  actually 
under  development  to  the  extent  of  one-half  its  possible  70,000 
horse  power,  is  that  at  Great  Lake,  in  almost  the  geographical 
center  of  the  island.  The  lake  covers  forty-two  square  miles 
and  is  3,250  feet  above  the  sea ;  it  drains  an  area  of  more  than 
200  square  miles  where  there  is  an  annual  rainfall  of  forty-five 
inches.  When  a  forty- foot  dam  is  com[)leted  it  will  raise  the 
level  of  the  lake  thirty-five  feet;  the  resulting  storage  of  312,- 
500,000  gallons  of  water  will  make  the  Great  Lake  reservoir 
fourth  largest  in  the  world,  rivaled  only  by  Elephant  Butte, 
Assouan  and  Roosevelt  reservoirs. 

From  the  lake  the  water  flows  five  miles  down  the  River 
Shannon,  then  is  diverted  down  a  canal  three  and  a  half  miles 
long,  to  empty  into  a  lagoon,  from  which  it  reaches  the  turbines 
of  the  power  house  thru  pressure  i)ipes  almost  two  miles  long. 
These  ])ipes  arc  made  from  wooden  staves  of  native  timber 
and  rest  on  log  foundations  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 


TASMANIA 


105 


They  carry  the  water  to  a  150- foot  head,  where  two  of  them 
are  replaced  by  steel  pipes  another  mile  long,  which  carry  the 
water  to  a  400-foot  head.  One  wooden  pipe  goes  all  the  way 
and  was  built  during  the  war  when  steel  was  not  obtainable. 
It  is  forty-nine  inches  in  diameter,  probably  the  largest  wooden 
pipe  in  the  world  with  water  pressure  at  a  400-foot  head. 
I  was  amazed  to  learn  that  the  rainfall  in  Tasmania  is  so 


The  pipes  which  carry  the  water  from  the  Great  Lake  of  Tasmania 
to  the  power  house  of  the  island's  greatest  hydro-electric  development. 
The  pipe  on  the  left  is  of  wood  and  was  built  during  the  war  when  steel 
could  not  be  obtained.  It  is  two  miles  long  and  forty-nine  inches  in 
diameter  and  is  said  to  be  the  largest  wooden  pipe  carrying  water  to  a 
400-foot  head  in  the  world.  It  is  made  of  eucalyptus  staves,  held  together 
by  wire. 


io6 


AUSTRALIA 


Tasmania  maintains  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  even  in  the 
bush  districts.  This  photograph  shows  a  group  of  children  in  the  school 
at  Maydcna,  near  Fitzgerald. 


great.  It  varies  from  an  average  of  twenty  inches  a  year  on 
the  east  coast  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  inches  on  the  mountain- 
ous west  coast,  in  some  locaHties  attaining  the  enormous  voUime 
of  two  hundred  inches.  As  the  center  of  the  island  averages 
3,000  feet  above  sea  level,  the  rivers  fall  very  rapidl}-  on  their 
way  to  the  sea.  So  you  can  see  the  immense  value  of  this 
potential  power,  virtually  monopolized  by  the  government. 

Already  this  power  is  being  utilized  industrially.  Elec- 
trolytic zinc  is  being  manufactured  near  Ilolxirt,  as  is 
also  carbide  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  all  Australia.  Large 
woolen  mills  are  in  operation  at  Launceston ;  a  large  cocoa 
and  chocolate  factory  is  being  erected  at  Claremont ;  large 
paint    works    are    being    run,    and    jxirtland    cement     works 


TASMANIA 


107 


on  a  big  scale  have  been  established  in  the  south  of  the 
island. 

Mining  is  of  considerable  importance  in  Tasmania.  The 
first  excitement  along  this  line  came  with  the  finding  of  tin  at 
Mt.  Bischoff  in  1871,  followed  by  the  discovery  of  gold,  copper 
and  silver.  The  state  leads  the  Commonwealth  in  the  produc- 
tion of  tin,  and  is  second  in  silver  and  lead.  Recently  the  gov- 
ernment has  permitted  the  diversion  of  the  waters  of  the  Sav- 
age River  so  that  gold  and  osmiridium  may  be  obtained  from 
the  bed  of  the  stream. 

Despite  all  these  resources  Tasmania  remains  primarily  a 
land  of  gardens,  farms,  orchards,  forests  and  beautiful  scenery. 
The  last  six  years  have  not  been  prosperous  ones   for  the 


One  of  Tasmania's  chief  sources  of  wealth — an  apple  orchard  on  the 
rich  slopes  of  the  north.  For  a  long  time  much  of  this  land  was  re- 
garded as  useless,  but  now  is  valued  at  from  $125  to  $250  an  acre.  Tas- 
manian  apples  are  of  rare  flavor,  size  and  appearance,  and  on  several 
occasions  have  topped  the  market  in  London  during  the  year.  Cider 
mills  are  found  thruout  the  island  and  cider  is  almost  the  national  drink 
of  the  island  state. 


io8 


AUSTRALIA 


Packing  the  famous  Tasmanian  apples. 

"tight  little  island,"  as  some  one  has  called  it,  as  shipping,  on 
which  the  value  of  its  products  depends,  has  been  sadly  de- 
moralized since  the  war.  With  the  return  to  normal,  however, 
Tasmania  is  due  to  step  forward. 

Officials  of  government  departments  with  whom  I  talked 
were  quite  frank  in  discussing  the  conditions  which  they  believe 
are  holding  the  country  back.  It  is  largely  a  matter  of  wages 
and  of  living  conditions.  Wages  are  the  lowest  of  all  Australia, 
while  the  cost  of  living  is  as  high  as  on  the  mainland.  The 
best-paid  laborers  are  the  skilled  iron  workers  and  the  elec- 
trical engineers — they  get  a  maximum  of  $30  a  week.  As  is 
the  case  in  all  Australia  the  rate  is  fixed  by  government  wage 
boards  for  the  various  trades. 

The  number  of  young  people,  men  and  women,  in  their 
twenties  and  thirties,  is  small  compared  to  the  total  population. 
You  see  a  great  many  hale  and  hearty  old  people  who  stay 
because  of  the  wonderful  climate,  but  the  majority  of  those 
engaged  in  commerce  and  the  skilled  trades  are  from  the  other 
states. 

"What  becomes  of  the  Tasmanians?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  they  all  go  to  the  mainland  as  soon  as  they  are  old 
enough  to  work  or  get  married,"  was  the  reply  of  a  newspaper 


TASMANIA  109 

man.  "Our  population  is  not  increasing,  altho  our  birth  rate 
is  high — what  we  gain  by  the  cradle  we  lose  by  ship." 

The  Tasmanian  government  is  beginning  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign to  attract  immigration  to  offset  the  threatened  loss  of 
population  due  to  the  greater  inducements  ofifered  by  the  other 
states  in  the  shape  of  higher  wages.  An  official  of  the  bank, 
which  is  maintained  by  the  state,  offered  me  the  following 
logical  explanation : 

"One  of  our  big  handicaps  is  that  the  land  is  held  in  large 
blocks  by  rich  owners.  The  state  is  too  poor  to  buy  these  lands 
and  subdivide  them  into  small  farms  which  can  be  offered  to 
settlers  on  easy  terms.  To  the  experienced  farmer  with  ready 
money  Tasmania  offers  a  splendid  opportunity.  To  the  man 
who  may  be  experienced  in  farming  but  who  has  not  at  least 
$2,000  there  is  little  inducement  to  choose  Tasmania  in  prefer- 
ence to  other  states.  The  state  owns  lands  which  it  will  sell 
to  him  on  fair  terms,  and  will  even  advance  him  money  with 
which  to  get  started,  but  those  who  settle  here  without  money 
can  get  only  uncleared  lands,  which  means  that  for  two  years 
there  will  be  no  profit  for  him  and  he  must  earn  his  living 
by  working  for  others  at  very  small  wages.  To  a  man  with 
a  sturdy  family,  the  kind  of  farmers  we  would  like  to  attract, 
there  isn't  enough  in  sight  to  induce  a  man  to  take  a  fling  at  it." 

Tasmania's  possibilities  as  an  agricultural  and  pastoral  state 
have  therefore  been  only  slightly  exploited.  Apples,  wheat,  oats 
and  hops  were  the  four  principal  crops.  Of  the  other  staples 
she  raises  scarcely  enough  to  supply  her  own  needs. 

Butter  and  cheese  factories  are  found  thruout  the  island, 
many  of  them  being  co-operative  plants  owned  by  the  farmers 
themselves. 

It  is  on  fine  merino  sheep  that  the  island  specializes,  its 
rams  and  ewes  being  in  great  demand  for  breeding  purposes 
in  other  countries.  Before  the  war  Tasmania  virtually  sup- 
plied the  countries  of  South  America  with  their  imported 
breeders.  Naturally,  wool  is  one  of  the  big  staples  of  the  island. 
Its  million  and  a  quarter  sheep,  the  average  for  the  past  ten 


no  AUSTRALIA 

years,  produced  in  1920  more  than  11,000,000  pounds  of  the 
finest  wool. 

Tasmania's  government  and  relation  to  the  Commonwealth 
is  the  same  as  the  other  Australian  states.  It  has  a  governor 
sent  out  from  England,  but  to  all  intents  and  purposes  it  is 
governed  by  its  premier  and  his  cabinet,  while  the  legislative 
end  is  in  the  hands  of  a  parliament  of  two  houses,  with  a  legis- 
lative council,  or  upper  house,  of  eighteen  members,  and  an 
assembly,  or  lower  house,  with  thirty-five  members. 

It  has  three  government  institutions  which  are  in  competi- 
tion with  private  enterprise — a  state  insurance  company  which 
handles  all  lines  but  life ;  an  agricultural  bank  which  lends 
money  on  lands  in  addition  to  helping  new  settlers  by  making 
them  advances ;  a  public  trust  office,  modeled  on  the  one  orig- 
inated in  New  Zealand  but  with  two  added  features.  One  is 
the  fact  that  if  a  will  so  orders  private  individuals  may  be 
associated  with  the  public  trustee  in  the  capacity  of  advisers  in 
the  administration  of  estates.  The  other  feature  is  that  the 
public  trustee  will  act  as  custodian  of  an  estate  but  will  make 
investments  only  upon  orders  of  trustees  when  named  in  the 
will. 


CHAPTER  VII 


VICTORIA 

VICTORIA,  with  the  exception  of  the  island  of  Tasmania, 
is  the  smallest  state  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia. 
It  occupies  the  southeastern  corner  of  Australia.  Its  length 
from  east  to  west  is  420  miles,  and  from  north  to  south  250 
miles.  It  contains  87,884 
square  miles,  or  56,245,760 
acres,  which  is  about  the 
size  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
with  Connecticut  thro^vn 
in.  Its  population  is  1,500,- 
000,  of  which  725,000  live 
in  the  capital,  Melbourne, 
and  its  suburbs.  It  is  a 
significant  tribute  to  the 
richness  of  the  state's  soil 
that  less  than  half  of  its 
people  live  in  the  country, 
yet  they  are  able  not  only  to 
feed  the  whole  state,  but 
export  great  quantities  of 
foodstuft'  as  well. 

The  early  visitors  to  the 
coast  of  Victoria  were  not 
sufficiently  attracted  to  re- 
main. Port  Phillip,  as  the 
harbor  of  Melbourne  was 
named,  was  an  uninviting 
place,  bordered  by  sand 
dunes,  and  the  venturesome  Queen  Victoria   statue  in   Ballarat. 


Ill 


112 


AUSTRALIA 


white  men  who  made  short  trips  of  exploration  beyond  the 
shore  Hne  brought  back  reports  of  great  tribes  of  unfriendly 
aborigines  and  that  the  country  was  unfit  for  cultivation.  This 
error  saved  Victoria  from  becoming  the  site  of  a  convict  colony, 
for  the  governor  who  was  sent  there  to  establish  such  a  settle- 
ment wrote  back  such  disparaging  letters  and  such  strong  pleas 
that  another  place  be  chosen  that  he  finally  was  permitted  to 
move  the  whole  establishment  across  Bass  Straits  to  Tasmania. 

So  Port  Phillip  was  let  severely  alone  for  many  years.  But 
from  Sydney  exploring  expeditions  kept  going  south  and  west, 
finally  discovering  some  rich  lands  which  were  within  the 
boundaries  of  what  now  is  \^ictoria.  The  coast  line,  however, 
was  not  touched  until  several  hardy  souls  from  Tasmania, 
driven  by  that  urge  which  has  animated  the  world's  pioneers, 
crossed  over  and  located  in  the  despised  district  and  proved 
that  it  was  possible  to  make  things  grow  there  and  to  raise 
stock.  Port  Phillip  became  a  small  settlement,  little  more  than 
a  gateway  to  the  fertile  grazing  plains  west  and  north  of  it. 

What  these  settlers  started,  the  people  of  Victoria  have  kept 
up,  for  today,  almost  a  hundred  years  later,  I  find  it  still  a 
state  where  agriculture  and  livestock-raising  predominate,  and 
where  wool,  hides,  meat,  wheat  and  small  grains  and  dairy 
produce  are  the  chief  articles  of  export.  There  are  today 
between  five  and  a  half  and  six  million  acres  under  cultivation, 


Harvesting   wheal   with   the   iiiacliine   tliat   cuts,   tliiaslies   aiul   sacks   the 
urain   at  one  operation. 


VICTORIA 


"3 


Irrigation  is  reclaiming  thousands  of  barren  acres  in  Australia. 
The  Victorian  farmer  has  been  a  leader  and  pioneer  in  irrigation.  The 
picture  shows  a  flood  gate  in  one  of  the  more  extensive  irrigation  sys- 
tems operating  in  Victoria. 

and  ill  192 1  the  wheat  crop  was  well  over  40,000,000  bushels, 
while  15,000,000  sheep  and  1,500,000  cattle  ranged  over  Vic- 
toria's plains  and  hills. 

Some  of  our  party  were  quite  fascinated  by  the  wheat 
harvest  in  the  dry-farming  districts  in  the  interior.  They 
never  had  seen  machines  which  strip  the  grain  out  of  the 
heads  of  the  wheat,  thrash  it  and  sack  it,  all  in  one  operation. 
Twelve  years  before  I  had  seen  similar  machines  at  work  in 
the  Argentine  Republic.  At  the  time  I  wondered  why  American 
farmers  did  not  use  this  method,  but  I  soon  learned  that  it 
was  not  practical  except  in  a  climate  that  contained  little  mois- 
ture at  harvest  time. 

In  Melbourne  I  had  the  privilege  of  talking  to  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  the  irrigation  work  of  Victoria,  Ben  Chaffey.     He 


114  AUSTRALIA 

is  from  California,  where  he  and  his  brother,  who  is  associated 
with  him,  had  had  irrigation  experience.  They  saw  vast  possi- 
bihties  in  the  waters  of  the  Murray  River,  which  for  over  a 
thousand  miles  of  its  very  crooked  length  is  the  boundary 
between  Victoria  and  New  South  Wales.  In  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  state  they  saw  thousands  of  acres  of  land  which 
they  believed  could  be  made  productive  if  they  only  had  some 
of  the  Murray  water  that  was  escaping  unused  to  the  sea. 
So  they  obtained  from  the  government  a  grant  of  50,000  acres 
and  bought  200,000  acres  more  on  generous  terms.  The  gov- 
ernment also  gave  the  concession  of  enough  water  from  the 
Murray  to  irrigate  their  holdings  and  fill  the  needs  of  all  who 
might  settle  there.  That  was  in  1887.  The  Chaft'eys  installed 
pumps  at  many  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Murray  and  dug 
hundreds  of  miles  of  channels  for  the  distribution  of  the  water. 
Settlers  came  in  cjuite  readily  then,  and  the  Chaft'eys  sold  them 
land,  and  water  equivalent  to  fifteen  inches  of  rainfall  a  year, 
at  the  very  reasonable  price  of  three  dollars  an  acre. 

But  their  forethought  did  not  end  there.  They  knew  that 
in  certain  years  the  Murray  would  not  run  full,  that  the  dreaded 
Australian  droughts  might  come  upon  them,  and  that  they 
must  provide  some  means  of  meeting  this  condition.  The  plant- 
ing of  grape  vines  and  fruit  trees  was  their  solution,  for  in  dry 
years  the  sale  of  raisins  and  other  fruit  oft'set  the  failure  of 
the  wheat  crop. 

Victoria  has  spent  over  $30,000,000  on  irrigation,  including 
advances  to  private  individuals  for  the  same  purpose,  since 
1905,  when  the  water  control  of  the  state  was  vested  in  a 
rivers  and  water  supply  commission.  1\^day  more  than  300,000 
acres  of  land,  which  otherwi.se  would  liave  been  only  slightly 
pnxluctive,  have  been  supplied  the  crop-insuring  water. 

The  state  has  no  large  and  deep  rivers.  Most  of  its  streams 
are  so  shallow  that  they  are  not  navigable  except  for  small,  flat- 
bottomed  boats.  Many  make  a  brave  start,  liiU  soon  dwindle 
into  tiny  rivulets  which  finally  lf)sc  tlienisclves  altogether 
in   the  dry   lands.     1  he  lakes  are   not   many   in  number  and 


VICTORIA 


115 


most  of  them  are  merely  marshes  except  in  flood  time. 
The  chief  irrigation  problem,  therefore,  has  been  one  of 
storing  the  water  against  the  time  of  need,  and  this  has  meant 
the  building  of  many  dams  and  reservoirs.  The  most  im- 
portant dams  are  those  across  the  Murray,  the  Loddon  and 
the  Goulbourn  rivers.  The  Goulbourn  is  the  largest  river  in 
the  state,  and  the  overflow  from  the  great  weir  which  has 
been  built  across  it  near  its  source  is  caught  by  another  dam 
twenty-six  miles  down  stream.  From  both  reservoirs  mile 
upon  mile  of  channels  carry  the  water  into  the  arid  lands. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  state  are  what  are  known  as 
the  mallee  lands,  millions  of  acres  covered  with  thick,  tough 
scrub  with  many-pronged  roots  which  it  is  back-breaking  work 
to  get  out.    But  the  clearing  of  the  land  is  not  the  big  problem ; 


Merino  sheep  have  reached  their  highest  development  in  Victoria. 
This  young  merino  ram  is  typical  of  the  stock  which  is  bringing  fame 
and  wealth  to  this  Australian  state. 


ii6 


AUSTRALIA 


Sheep  shearing  is  a  profession  in  Victoria.  Laws  have  been  passed 
which  have  done  away  with  the  old  time  shearer  who  went  from  place 
to  place,  getting  a  job  where  he  could  and  living  any  way  the  sheep 
raiser  saw  fit  to  make  him.  Proper  accommodations  must  now  be  given 
him  and  he  must  be  handled  with  gloves  or  the  union  to  which  he  be- 
longs will  take  a  hand.  Electricity  is  now  used  almost  exclusively  for 
shearing  the  eight  to  nine  pound  merino  fleeces,  for  Victoria  has  led 
the  world  in  the  develojiment  of  the  wool-producing  merino. 

this  district  has  an  uncertain  rainfall  and  before  the  land  can 
be  made  productive  water  must  be  brought  to  it.  The  nearest 
source  is  the  Murray,  but  unfortunately,  the  mallee  lands  are 
higher  than  the  river.  It  is  uroijosed  to  overcome  this  difficulty 
by  building  a  huge  reservoir  to  hold  the  rainfall  from  run- 
ning off. 

In  Vict(;ria,  clearing  malice  is  done  mosll)'  by  tractors, 
which  arc  used  to  haul  across  the  scrub  great  iron  cylin- 
ders—<;ften  a  discarded  steam  boiler — which  heals  down 
the  bushes  and  crushes  the  sap  out  of  them.  When  it  has  dried, 
fire  is  .set  to  the  scrub  and  I  lie  l.itid  burned  off.    Tlun  the  heavy 


VICTORIA  117 

roots  are  grubbed  out  and  tbe  land  is  ready  for  cultivation 
after  it  has  been  treated  with  phosphates.  The  roots  are  used 
for  fuel. 

Sheep  in  Victoria  are  raised  mostly  for  their  wool,  and  I 
was  not  surprised  to  learn  that  in  this  state  the  merino  has 
reached  the  highest  development  in  the  world.  The  original 
merinos  were  brought  to  X'ictoria  from  Spain  and  (ireat 
FJritain,  and  it  is  said  that  most  of  the  finest  sheep  are  de- 
scended from  a  famous  flock  of  Sussex,  England.  If  so,  the 
Victorian  sheep  of  today  far  surpass  their  ancestors,  for  the 
fleece  now  weighs  an  average  of  eight  or  nine  pounds,  in  con- 
trast to  the  three  or  four-pound  fleeces  of  the  sheep  imported 
fifty  years  ago. 

Naturally,  the  wool-clipping  season  is  a  strenuous  one,  for 
the  annual  clip  is  over  100.000,000  pounds,  valued  at  between 
twenty-five  and  thirty  million  dollars.  Electric  shearing  ma- 
chinery is  universally  used,  the  shearers  traveling  thru  the 
country  in  bands.  Like  all  classes  of  labor,  the  shearers  have 
a  union,  and  one  of  their  most  stringent  rules  is  that  a  shearer 
cannot  be  compelled  to  shear  wet  sheep,  and  must  be  paid  for 
the  time  he  is  compelled  to  be  idle  while  the  fleece  is  drying. 
The  man  who  raises  sheep  is  grateful  at  selling  time  for  the 
heavy  fleece  on  his  N'ictorian  flocks,  but  it  is  a  mixed  blessing 
in  shearing  time,  for  even  in  the  driest  of  seasons  a  heavy 
fleece  will  pick  up  a  surprising  amount  of  moisture. 

Raising  of  sheep  and  lambs  for  meat  is  secondary  to  wool, 
in  spite  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  Australian  mutton  and 
lamb  is  held  in  other  countries.  Until  the  drought  of  1914  this 
trade  was  on  the  increase  in  Victoria,  and  the  last  few  years 
have  seen  a  considerable  revival.  There  are  not  more  than 
twenty  freezing  plants  in  the  state  and  the  4,000,000  sheep  and 
lambs,  250,000  cattle,  400,000  hogs  and  several  million  rabbits, 
which  they  handle  in  a  year,  keep  most  of  them  busy. 

When  I  was  a  young  fellow  I  remember  reading  a  very 
popular  brand  of  fiction  in  those  days,  a  yellow-backed, 
hair-raising  type  of  story  which  purported  to  depict 
life  in  the  Australian  gold-mining  camps.     I  remember,  too, 


ii8 


AUSTRALIA 


Many  of  these  old  prospectors  still  follow  the  lure  of  the  gold 
which  made  Victoria  famous.  They  pick  up  a  few  grains  of  gold  now 
and  then — just  enough  to  keep  them  hoping  for  the  strike  that  means  a 
fortune.  State  records  show  20,000  prospectors'  licenses  issued  annually. 


a  many-.stanzaed  poem  of  the  same  order,  a  lilting,  thrilling 
thing  that  announced  at  the  very  beginning  that  what  followed 
wa.s  "a  tale  oi  Ballarat  and  Bendigo." 

I  felt  somewhat  the  same  thrill  when  the  train  from  Mel- 
bfjurne  slowed  down  after  a  seventy-five  mile  journey  and  I 
learned  that  1  was  at  last  at  I)allarat.  But  such  a  different 
Ballarat  from  that  graven  on  my  mind  by  ihc  wild  talcs  of 
long  ago!  I  ste])ped  from  the  train  into  a  modern  station, 
and  tbru  the  station  into  the  midst  of  a  modern  town  with 
wide  streets,  good-sized  stores,  electric  street  cars,  arc  lights 
and  aut(jmobiles. 

It  was  in  New  South  Wales  that  gold  was  first  found — by 


VICTORIA  I  [9 

an  Australian  miner  who  had  joined  the  rush  of  '49  to  the 
Cahfornia  diggings,  and,  failing  there,  had  recalled  that  the 
formation  of  the  country  around  his  own  Australian  home 
was  a  great  deal  like  the  gold  fields  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
had  hastened  back  to  go  prospecting.  The  discovery  of  gold 
in  New  South  Wales  threatened  to  depopulate  the  struggling 
colony  of  Victoria  and  its  officials  offered  a  reward  of  $800  to 
the  first  person  to  find  gold  in  the  state.  It  was  at  Ballarat 
that  the  reward  was  claimed,  for  only  a  few  yards  from  the 
trail  over  which  countless  feet  had  tramped  on  the  way  west 
from  Melbourne  a  nugget  was  picked  up  and  several  others 
found. 

In  the  boom  days,  the  United  States  furnished  hundreds  of 
the  motley  crew  of  rough-and-tumble  men  who  flocked  to 
Ballarat  in  search  of  fortune.  Many  of  them  quit  the  Cali- 
fornia fields,  lured  on  by  the  tales  of  even  richer  finds  in  Aus- 
tralia. It  took  two  or  three  months  to  cross  the  Pacific  in  the 
sailing  vessels  of  those  days,  and  when  they  reached  Port  Phil- 
lip it  was  to  find  it  virtually  deserted.  Officials,  judges,  law- 
yers, doctors,  shopkeepers,  clerks  and  all  but  two  of  the  police 
force  had  quit  their  jobs  to  join  the  rush  to  Ballarat  and 
Bendigo  and  later  to  Ararat. 

Before  they  ceased  paying,  the  gold  fields  of  Victoria,  both 
alluvial  and  quartz,  had  yielded  treasure  valued  at  one  and  one- 
half  billion  dollars  Several  years  ago  the  cost  of  mining  had 
increased  so  greatly,  and  the  veins  no  longer  ran  wide  and  rich, 
that  gradually  one  mine  after  another  began  to  close  down 
until  now  all  of  them  have  been  abandoned.  Today  you  wull 
not  find  a  single  shafthouse  or  mine  derrick  around  Ballarat. 

At  Bendigo,  ninety-five  miles  away,  several  mines  are  still 
operating,  but  hardly  paying  cost.  There  are  other  minerals 
to  be  obtained  in  the  state,  but  they  total  only  $6,000,000  in 
value  a  year. 

No  story  of  Ballarat  would  be  complete  without  a  mention 
of  the  famous  battle  of  the  Eureka  stockade  on  a  Sunday  morn- 
ing in  December,  1854.  The  government  had  tried  to  tax  the 
miners  for  licenses  and  undertook  to  enforce  collection  of  the 


I20 


AUSTRALIA 


tax  by  using  troops  to  hunt  down  the  unlicensed  diggers.  The 
miners  of  Ballarat  brought  things  to  a  head  by  erecting  a 
stockade,  raising  a  flag,  which  they  proclaimed  that  of  the  re- 
public of  A'ictoria,  and  defying  the  authorities.  The  troops 
captured  the  stockade  in  a  bril- 
liant assault  which  cost  some 
forty  lives,  and  the  backbone  of 
the  rebellion  was  broken,  but  the 
miners  won,  because  the  obnox- 
ious diggers'  license  tax  was  re- 
pealed. 

Had  Ballarat  been  like  many 
other  mining  cities  it  would  have 
fallen  to  a  mere  village  by  now. 
But  it  is  the  center  of  a  rich 
farming  district  in  which  there 
is  much  wheat  and  many  cattle 
and  sheep.  So  when  mining 
played  out,  Ballarat  went  calmly 
ahead  supplying  the  agricultural 
needs  of  its  neighbors.  Today, 
with  a  population  of  40,000.  it  is 
the  largest  inland  town  of  the 
Commonwealth  and  correspond- 
ingly important. 

The  bushrangers  and  outlaws  who  swarmed  into  Victoria 
and  New  South  Wales  as  a  result  of  the  gold  strikes,  and  the 
necessity  of  i)r()tccting  the  shipments  of  gold  to  the  coast,  gave 
birth  to  the  magnificent  Australian  police  force,  which  has  a 
record  surpassed  only  by  the  Royal  Northwest  Mounted  Police 
of  Canada  and  our  own  Texas  Rangers.  \^ictoria  today  has 
1,500  pr>licemen,  or  constables,  as  they  are  called,  to  cover  her 
entire  territcjry.  'J'wo  hundred  and  fifty  of  tluin  traxel  lonely 
beats  in  the  bush  country,  many  miles  from  civilization,  per- 
forming their  wiried  duties,  the  least  of  wliicli  is  the  capture  of 
criminaK.     The  state  is  singn]arl\-  free  from  crinu',  onl\  20(;  per- 


The  Australian  Mounted  Police  is  an 
organization  similar  to  the  Northwest 
Mounted  Police  of  Canada,  and  the 
Range  Riders  of  the  United  States.  A 
mere  liandful  of  these  mounted  ofticcrs 
patrol  the  vast  country  district  and  their 
reputation  is  such  that  one  of  them,  un- 
aided, can  handle  almost  anv  situation. 


VICTORIA 


121 


sons  having  been  convicted  for  serious  offenses  in  the  last  year 
for  which  figures  are  available. 

The  lot  of  the  constable  who  patrols  a  bush  district  is  hardly 
a  happy  one.  Sometimes  he  is  the  only  visitor  the  settlers  see 
from  civilization  from  one  year's  end  to  another.  The  terrible 
loneliness  of  the  bush  cannot  be  fairly  imagined  by  those  who 
have  not  lived  in  it.  In  many  places  the  trees  are  so  thick  that 
it  seems  a  country  of  perpetual  twilight.  It  is  weird  and  un- 
canny and  has  a  depressing  effect  upon  the  bush  dwellers,  in 
striking  contrast  to  those  who  live  alone  in  the  mountains  or 
the  plains  in  perfect  content.    Insanity  is  increasing  in  Victoria. 


There  are  sixty  varieties  of  the  eucalj'ptus  tree  in  Victoria  and 
the  majesty  and  beauty  of  the  forest  is  not  soon  forgotten.  Some  of 
these  trees  attain  to  a  height  of  300  feet. 


III  a  i)ictiirr  it  looks  very  iiuiliii:^  aiul  rninantir,  hut  to  tlio  settler 
in  the  bush  there  is  more  prose  tliaii  ijoelrj-  in  life  in  his  isolated 
shack,  often  many  miles   from  a  neighbor. 


VICTORIA  123 

and  medical  authorities  say  the  horrible  loneliness  of  life  in  the 
unsettled  portions  is  largely  responsible. 

There  are  60,000  more  women  than  there  are  men  in  \'ic- 
toria,  yet  marriage  seems  to  be  going  out  of  date,  for  every 
census  reveals  the  proportion  is  increasing.  The  probable 
explanation  is  that  the  lot  of  a  hard-working  farmer's  wife  in 
a  thinly  settled  district  is  hardly  calculated  to  appeal  to  a  girl 
as  much  as  remaining  single  in  a  city.  Another  reason  is  the 
men  drink  much  liquor. 

Depressing  as  the  bush  country  may  be  to  those  who  live 
there,  no  one  who  has  seen  a  Victorian  forest  of  eucalyptus 
trees  is  likely  to  forget  it.  The  eucalypts  are  of  many  varie- 
ties, and  the  kinds  that  grow  in  one  place  quite  often  would 
die  if  planted  in  another  place  only  a  few  miles  away.  In  Vic- 
toria alone  there  are  over  sixty  varieties,  some  reaching  a  height 
of  300  feet.  The  eucalypts,  or  gums,  replace  very  rapidly — 
seven  times  as  fast  as  oak  or  hickory.  Twenty  varieties  grow- 
ing in  Victoria  have  commercial  value,  yielding  tannin  from 
the  bark,  lumber  from  the  wood  and  oil  from  the  gum  and 
leaves. 

Railroad  sleepers  made  from  the  blue  gum  have  been 
known  to  last  for  forty  years,  shingles  made  from  the  pepper- 
mint gum  will  last  almost  as  long,  due  in  both  cases  partly  to 
the  extreme  dryness  of  the  climate.  Another  variety,  the  iron- 
bark,  is  of  great  value  for  its  quality  of  withstanding  tire  better 
than  iron,  which  warps  in  great  heat. 

Victoria  has  some  12,000,000  acres  of  forest  land  under  the 
control  of  a  commission  formed  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
woodlands.  Three  million  acres  of  state  lands  are  on  the 
slopes  of  high  mountain  ranges  and  are  protected  for  the  main- 
tenance of  springs  and  streams,  as  the  forests  of  a  country 
are  the  natural  conservators  of  its  water  sources.  In  the  center 
of  the  state  large  tracts  which  have  been  cut  over  are  closed 
now  in  order  that  new  timber  will  have  a  chance  to  grow, 
4,000,000  acres  have  been  set  aside  as  reserves,  500,000  acres 
being  cut  over,  and  the  rest,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state 


124  AUSTRALIA 

where  transportation  has  not  been  opened  up.  will  be  held  for 
the  future. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  many  parts  the  state  is  not  thickly 
populated,  Victoria  maintains  free  schools  in  every  county. 
On  a  map  at  which  I  was  looking  the  schoolhouses  were  indi- 
cated by  red  dots.  In  the  farthest  northwest  county  I  found  a 
lonely  red  dot,  altho  there  were  not  a  hundred  persons  all  told 
in  the  district.  There  is  a  total  of  2,500  public  schools  in  the 
state. 

School  attendance  is  compulsory  between  the  ages  of  six 
and  fourteen.  In  some  cases,  when  children  have  been  taken 
from  school  at  fourteen,  attendance  at  night  school  to  the  age 
of  seventeen  is  compulsory.  Deaf  and  dumb  or  defective 
children  must  be  kept  in  school  till  they  are  sixteen.  In  order 
to  enforce  attendance  in  sparsely  settled  districts  the  state  fur- 
nishes conveyance  to  children  living  far  from  the  schoolhouse. 
In  other  cases,  teachers  drive  thru  the  country,  giving  short 
periods  of  instruction  daily  and  assigning  lessons  for  the  next 
day.  This  visiting  plan  ought  to  be  adopted  in  some  localities 
in  the  United  States. 

What  a  blessing  the  ability  to  read  is,  was  impressed  upon 
me  most  deeply  during  one  of  our  journeys  by  train  thru 
Victoria.  At  frecjuent  intervals  our  ears  were  assailed  by 
loud  shouts  and  cries  from  along  the  tracks  thru  the  swiftly 
moving  train  windows.  Always  the  cry  was  the  same,  whether 
it  was  in  the  hoarse  voice  of  men  or  in  the  shriller  tones  of 
children.  Puzzled,  1  lurncd  to  one  of  my  neighbors  and  asked 
him  what  it  meant. 

"They  are  crying:  'Paper!  Paper!'"  he  answered.  "They 
live  where  papers  are  not  to  be  bought  and  are  far  from  town. 
It  is  the  custom  in  this  country  to  save  the  newsi)apers  and 
magazines  which  you  read  on  the  train  and  toss  them  out  the 
window  when  you  hear  the  people  ask  for  them." 

In  1835,  a  Tasmanian,  John  liatman,  sailed  across  Bass 
Straits  to  the  then  deserted  Port  Phillip,  and,  taking  a  stroll 
fc)r  thirty  miles  inland,  came  upon  a  river  calk'd  \  arra,  which 


VICTORIA 


Melbourne's  beautiful  public  library.  Beneath  the  great  concrete 
dome,  said  to  be  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  is  the  library,  gallery 
of  art  and  natural  history  and  the  technological  museum.  The  library 
has  a  quarter  of  a  million  volumes  and  about  600  volumes  are  circulated 
daily.  The  reading  room  will  accommodate  300  readers  and  side  rooms 
will  take  care  of  half  as  many  more. 


took  his  eye.  That  night  he  wrote  in  his  diary :  "This  will 
be  the  site  for  a  village." 

I  wonder  what  old  John  Batman  would  say  if  he  could  have 
revisited  that  site  when  I  was  there,  eighty-six  years  later.  The 
village  which  he  saw  in  his  mind's  eye  has  materialized  in  Mel- 
bourne, a  city  with  three-quarters  of  a  million  people,  the 
ninth  largest  city  in  the  British  Empire  and  the  thirty-eighth 
city  in  the  world. 

When  Melbourne  was  laid  out  its  principal  streets  were 
made  parallel  to  the  Yarra  River,  and  so  they  have  remained, 
running  northeast  and  southwest.  They  are  wide,  just  a  mile 
long,   and  are  crossed  at   right  angles  by  other  wide  streets 


126 


AUSTRALIA 


every  eighth  of  a  mile.  The  center  of  the  business  part  of  the 
city  is  a  mile  long  and  a  half  mile  wide.  At  the  eastern  and 
western  ends  the  streets  are  at  the  summits  of  gentle  grades 
which  slope  down  to  meet  in  what  was  once  a  marshy  gully. 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  five  long  streets  of  the  business 
section  that  each  of  them  has  a  poor  relation,  narrow  streets 
midway  of  the  blocks  that  Americans  would  call  forty- foot 
alleys.  But  they  are  far  from  being  alleys,  for  upon  them 
front  stores  and  office  buildings  fully  as  imposing  as  some  of 
those  on  the  wide  streets.  The  method  of  naming  them  is 
rather  confusing,  for  you  will  find  Collins  street  and  then  its 


The  magnificent  double  railway  station  of  Melbourne,  Australia. 
It  has  two  separate  stations  under  its  roof  and  each  has  its  own  name. 
A  tunnel  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long  connects  it  with  an  ancient  building 
called  the  Spencer  .Street  .Station  at  wiiich  tlie  thru  trains  tliat  tnuchall 
the  state  capitals  stop.  The  building  covers  forty  acres  and  in  normal 
times  1,300  trains  enter  and  leave  it  daily. 


VICTORIA 


127 


Six-track   railway   between    Melbourne   and    Richmond.     This   line   has 
been  electrified  since  this  picture  was  taken. 

narrow  street,  Little  Collins.  However,  it  is  these  little 
streets  which  enable  the  city  to  compress  into  such  a  small 
district  its  really  great  business,  for  the  five  principal  streets 
are  a  hundred  feet  wide. 

The  street  cars  of  Melbourne  are  operated  by  underground 
cables,  like  those  in  the  United  States  thirty  years  ago.  The 
cars  are  painted  in  vivid  reds,  blues  or  greens.  It  is  done 
with  a  purpose,  for  the  color  indicates  the  route.  The  conductors 
and  motormen  are  garbed  in  khaki.  The  conductor  is  deco- 
rated with  strips  of  colored  paper  pinned  to  his  blouse  by 
safety  pins ;  these  are  his  cash  register,  for  he  must  punch  on 
these  the  amount  of  money  taken  in  fares.  The  diflferent  colors 
represent  different  fares,  the  cheapest  ride  being  four  cents  for 
two  miles.  The  street  railroads  are  owned  and  operated  by 
the  city. 

Directing  traffic  on  the  streets  of  Melbourne  is  a  double 


128  AUSTRALIA 

affair,  for  at  the  crossings  stand  a  policeman  and  an  employe 
of  the  railways.  The  policeman  majestically  waves  vehicles 
and  pedestrians  across  at  intervals,  and  the  street  car  signal- 
man waves  flags  of  green  and  white  to  move  the  cars ;  at  night 
lanterns  are  substituted  for  the  flags.  Pedestrians  must  cross 
at  right  angles — the  law  frowns  on  "jay-walkers."  As  in  all 
British  cities,  the  traffic  moves  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the 
street,  which  is  confusing  to  Americans,  who  have  been  taught 
to  "turn  to  the  right." 

Australians  are  generally  splendid  specimens  of  manhood, 
but  in  Melbourne  they  seem  to  be  taller  and  heavier  than  else- 
where. They  walk  with  a  bit  of  a  swagger  and  with  a  vigor 
and  swing  that  speaks  of  top  physical  condition.  Perhaps  it 
is  the  climate.  iMelbourne  is  as  far  south  of  the  equator  as 
Richmond,  \'irginia,  is  north  of  it,  but  in  Melbourne  snow  is 
unknown  and  the  summers  have  only  a  few  really  hot  days. 

It  is  quite  the  thing  in  ^Melbourne  to  date  events  from  the 
year  that  so-and-so  won  the  Cup.  by  which  they  mean  the 
Melbourne  Cup,  which  is  run  at  Flemington  race  course  in 
November  each  year.  Horse  racing  is  the  national  pastime  of 
Australia,  and  a  great  many  say  it  is  the  national  curse,  too, 
for  no  race  is  run,  even  in  the  most  remote  districts,  without 
having  some  thousands  of  dollars  wagered  upon  the  result. 
Immense  fortunes  change  hands  each  year  on  the  outcome  of 
the  cup  race  for  it  is  the  one  day  of  the  year  when  almost 
every  Australian  plunges.  Betting  in  .Australia  is  done 
mostly  thru  l)()okmakers.  The  pari-mutucl  or  totalisator  ma- 
chines are  forbidden  by  law.  but  at  some  race  courses  they  are 
used  anyway. 

Melbourne  has  one  railroad  station  that  is  a  huge  struc- 
ture of  modern  architecture  and  another  one  that  is  rather 
ancient  and  decrci)it.  'J'he  new  station  is  used  for  suburban 
trains,  while  the  thru  exi)resses  and  mail  trains  use  the  old  one, 
which  is  probably  as  it  should  be,  as  the  suburban  traffic  of 
Melbourne  has  assumed  great  proportions.  Like  all  other  rail- 
ways in  the  state,  with  the  except  ion  of  twenty-five  miles,  the 
suinirl),!!)    lines  are   state-owned.      Tlicx    lia\'e   been   converted 


VICTORIA 


129 


i^iymrnxmie 


Archbishop  Mannix's  Cathedral  and  Madame  Melba's  home,  the 
latter  thirty  miles  from  Melbourne,  always  attract  the  sightseer.  The 
famous  singer's  home  is  noted  for  its  simplicity  and  the  good  taste 
displayed  in  its  furnishings. 

into  electric  lines  in  order  to  gain  speed,  cleanliness  and  fre- 
quency. There  are  5,500  miles  of  railroad  in  the  state,  the 
Director  of  which,  or  General  Manager,  as  he  would  be  called 
in  the  United  States,  is  Harold  W.  Clapp,  whose  railroad  train- 
ing was  received  in  America. 

The  city  government  of  Alelbourne  spent  a  million  dollars 


i^o 


AUSTRALIA 


The  average  dwelling   in   Alelbourne  speaks 

well    for   the   good   taste   and   industry  of    the 

average  citizen.     This  picture   shows  a  typical 
Melbourne  home. 


building  a  municipal  mar- 
ket house.  It  is  a  three- 
story  structure  of  brick, 
which  houses  hundreds  of 
stalls,  and  here  in  the  early 
morning  are  held  the  auc- 
tions of  produce  to  which 
the  housewife  comes  to  do 
her  kitchen  shopping.  One 
part  of  the  building  is  given 
over  to  storage  chambers 
for  poultry,  butter,  rabbits 
and  products  intended  for 
shipping  overseas,  for  the 
market  house  lies  in  a  bend 
of  the  river,  close  by  the  wharfs  at  which  are  moored  the  ships 
that  come  from  Port  Phillip. 

The  visitor  to  Melbourne  will  be  impressed  as  I  was  by 
the  number  of  churches,  of  all  denominations  and  ranging  from 
modest  brick  structures  to  the  great  cathedrals  of  the  Anglican 
and  Roman  faith.  If  they  are  not  well  attended  it  is  not  be- 
cause of  other  interests  to  divert  the  mind  on  Sunday,  for  in 

Melbourne  as  in  all  Aus- 
tralasia the  injunction  to 
remember  the  Sabbath  day 
and  keep  it  holy  is  rigidly 
obeyed.  All  business  save 
hotels,  restaurants  and  drug 
stores  close  tight,  and  over 
the  city  broods  a  restful 
quiet. 

As  in  other  states  of 
Australia,  the  governor  is 
appointed    by    the    British 

^,  .    .       ,  ,    ,    ,  .,...•  im])crial    government,    but 

This  IS  a  homesteader  s  house  m  the  irrigation  . 

di.strict  of  Victoria.  the    real    governor    is    the 


VICTORIA 


131 


Premier  of  the  party  which  is  then  in  power.  Like  his 
seven  fellow  ministers  who  make  up  the  cabinet,  he  usually 
is  a  member  of  one  of  the  two  houses  of  the  state  parliament. 
The  upper  house  is  called 
the  Legislative  Council  and 
consists  of  thirty  -  four 
members,  two  from  each 
of  the  seventeen  electoral 
provinces  into  which  the 
state  is  divided.  The 
members  of  the  Council 
are  not  elected  by  univer- 
sal suffrage  but  only  by 
the  votes  of  owners  of  a 
certain  amount  of  prop- 
erty, members  of  the 
lea  r  n  e  d  professions, 
students  and  graduates  of 
universities,  naval  and 
military  officers. 

The  Legislative  Assem- 
bly consists  of  sixty-five 
members,  who  are  elected 
by  universal  suffrage. 
^They  hold  office  for  three 
years  unless  Parliament  is 
dissolved  sooner. 

The  man  who  gets  the 
most  votes  in  a  Victorian 
election  is  not  necessarily 
the  one  who  is  elected,  for 
the  preferential  system  is 
in  effect.  The  voter  indi- 
cates second  and  third 
choice  on  his  ballot.  If 
the  leading  candidate  has 
not  an  absolute  majority 


1 


Australia  gave  the  world  of  labor  the  eight- 
hour  day  in  1856,  many  years  before  it  was 
adopted  in  any  other  country.  This  is  the  monu- 
ment which  stands  in  one  of  the  squares  in  Mel- 
bourne, commemorating  the  event.  The  "8-8-8" 
surmounting  the  shaft  signifies  eight  hours  for 
work,  eight  hours  for  rest  and  eight  hours  for 
recreation. 


132  AUSTRALIA 

of  the  votes  cast,  the  lowest  candidate  is  dropped  from  the 
running  and  second  and  third  choice  on  the  ballots  cast  for  him 
arc  counted,  and  so  on  until  some  one  has  a  clear  majority. 

The  campaign  expenses  of  candidates  for  parliament  in 
Victoria  are  limited  to  $i,6oo  for  the  upper  house  and  $600 
for  the  lower.  Not  only  that,  but  the  law  designates  just 
what  money  may  be  spent  for  and  limits  the  number  of  paid 
workers  who  may  be  employed. 

The  party  which  has  a  majority  in  parliament  chooses  the 
Premier.  He  in  turn  chooses  the  members  of  his  cabinet. 
Four  of  them  must  be  members  of  parliament,  not  more  than 
two  being  members  of  the  Council,  while  not  more  than  six 
may  belong  to  the  Lower  House.  The  list  must  be  submitted 
to  the  governor,  who  may  veto  any  of  them  against  whom  there 
is  serious  objection,  but  this  has  never  happened.  The  gov- 
ernor also  has  the  power  to  veto  any  legislation  passed  by 
parliament,  but  he  never  does  so  except  at  the  direction  of 
the  imperial  government. 

It  is  v.'hen  n  ministry  is  defeated  in  some  legislation  it 
proposes  that  the  governor  has  a  ticklish  job.  In  that  case  the 
Premier  asks  the  governor  to  dissolve  the  parliament  and  order 
a  new  election.  If  a  party  is  defeated  at  the  polls  the  whole 
ministry  resigns  and  the  governor  names  a  new  Premier, 
usually  the  leader  of  the  party  victorious  at  the  polls. 

As  early  as  1873,  Victoria  began  legislation  for  the  benefit 
of  the  workingman.  That  year  a  law  was  passed  forbidding 
the  employment  of  women  in  a  factory  for  more  than  eight 
hours  in  a  day.  'i'his  was  followed  by  laws  requiring  the 
registration  of  factories,  prescribing  measures  of  sanitation 
and  safety  and  fixing  the  closing  hours  of  shops.  The  state 
originated  the  system  of  wage  boards,  of  which  there  are  now 
some  hundred  and  sixty,  composed  of  equal  numbers  of  em- 
ployers and  employes,  who  fix  tiie  wages  in  their  respective 
trades.  Child  labor  is  forbidden  for  l)oys  under  fourteen  and 
for  girls  under  fifteen.  There  is  a  niininuim  wage,  fixed  by 
law,  for  all  factory  em])loycs. 

A  state  labor  bcjard  is  maintaiiicd  wliicli  registers  the  unem- 


VICTORIA 


133 


ployed  and  finds  them 
work.  It  advances  money 
as  a  loan  to  workmen  who 
are  unable  to  pay  the  fare 
to  places  where  they  have 
found  jobs.  A  workman's 
compensation  act  is  in  ef- 
fect. The  state  operates  a 
competitive  accident  insur- 
ance company,  insuring  the 
employers  against  loss 
under  the  compensation 
law.  All  employers  are 
compelled  to  take  out  poli- 
cies in  either  the  state  com- 
pany or  some  company  ap- 
proved by  the  government 
for  the  full  amount  of  their 
liability  under  the  compen- 
sation act.  The  rival  com- 
panies to  the  state  insur- 
ance, some  fifty  in  number, 
are  required  to  put  up  cash 
bonds  with  the  state  to  in- 
sure their  carrvins?  out  the 


In  the  British  Empire,  The  Salvation  Army 
carries  on  its  vinrclenting  war  against  sin  and 
does  much  valuable  welfare  work.  It  is  ren- 
dering valiant  service  in  Australia.  This  is  a 
picture  of  "Army  Headquarters"  in  Melbourne. 


provisions  of  the  policies  they  issue.  The  amount  of  the  bond 
is  increased  as  the  rate  increases,  which  practically  compels 
them  to  hold  to  the  rate  charged  by  the  state. 

Before  the  war  Victoria  was  one  of  the  most  active  of  the 
Australian  states  in  encouraging  immigration  from  Great 
Britain  and  North  America.  It  arranged  cheap  fares  and  in 
some  cases  paid  them  in  an  etTort  to  get  the  best  class  of 
settlers  and  labor  into  the  state.  Since  the  war,  however,  it 
has  limited  its  activities  in  this  direction  to  the  bringing  out 
of  relatives  of  those  already  in  Victoria,  and  to  settling  former 
members  of  the  British  naval  and  military  forces  upon  the  land. 

Returned  soldiers  are  being  given  the  best  lands  available 


The  "sport  of  kings"  is  decidedly  popular  in  Australia  and  espe- 
cially so  in  Victoria.  The  picture  shows  the  leaders  in  a  hurdle  race 
at  the  Moonee  Valley  race  course. 


The  famous  FIcminRton  race  course  at  McllKiurnc  with  the  race 
for  the  McllKnirne  Cuj)  in  progress.  This  event  attracts  150,000 
spectators. 


VICTORIA 


135 


in  the  irrigated  districts.  The  state  government  has  bought 
many  big  tracts  which  the  owners  were  using  as  sheep  or  cattle 
ranges,  and  has  divided  them  into  small  farms  which  are 
offered  to  ex-soldiers  on  the  most  generous  terms.  Millions 
of  dollars  have  been  advanced  to  those  who  have  taken  up 
farms  in  this  way. 

An  examination  of  the  vital  statistics  of  the  state  reveals 
that  the  birth  rate  is  only  22.29  per  thousand  of  population, 
that  the  infant  mortality  is  the  greatest  of  any  state  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  that  the  death  rate  of  10.7  per  thousand 
is  the  highest.  At  first  blush  it  would  seem  as  if  this  gave  the 
lie  to  the  boast  of  Victoria  that  it  has  the  healthiest  climate  in 
Australia.  Further  investigation,  however,  reveals  the  fact 
that  the  number  of  aged  people  in 
Victoria  is  greater  according  to 
population  than  in  any  other  state, 
and  that  the  deaths  among  younger 
people  are  comparatively  few. 

Victoria  has  a  well-founded  claim 
to  healthiness,  and  Melbourne  in 
particular  is  quite  proud  of  the  fact 
that  splendid  sewerage,  pure  water, 
labor  conditions  and  stringent  laws 
concerning  contagious  diseases  have 
kept  its  health  record  high.  Death 
from  typhoid  fever,  diphtheria  and 
tuberculosis,  the  most  fatal  ills  of 
a  big  city,  have  steadily  decreased 
in  the  last  few  years. 

Victoria  is  a  wealthy  state.  The 
average  weekly  clearances  of  the 
Melbourne  clearing  house  alone  is 
more  than  $50,000,000.  There  are 
sixteen  banking  institutions  in  the 
state,  with  a  total  of  about  seven 
hundred    and    fifty    branches.     Of 


This  is  a  snap-shot  of  David 
Unaipon,  an  AI)orit?inal  Australian, 
of  exceptional  intelligence.  He  is  the 
inventor  of  an  improved  sheep-shear- 
ing machine,  an  accomplished  musi- 
cian, and  his  addresses  on  evolution 
have  attracted  much  attention  in  all 
parts  of  the  Commonwealth. 


136 


AUSTRALIA 


course,  the  enormous  amount  of  business  which  is  transacted 
is  due  largely  to  the  imports  and  exports  of  Melbourne,  thru 
the  port  of  which  passes  most  of  Victoria's  annual  export. 


The  Gorge,  on  Mt.  Buffalo,  is  one  of  the  scenic  attractions  of  Victoria. 
The  precipice  at  the  left  of  the  picture  has  a  sheer  drop  of  1,700  feet. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SOUTH    AUSTRALIA 

WHEN  first  you  step  off  the  train  in  Adelaide,  capital  of 
the  state  of  South  Australia,  you  are  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  here  is  a  modern  city.  It  is  somewhat  of  a  sur- 
prise, then,  to  learn  that  Adelaide  was  not  laid  out  within 
the  last  few  years,  and  that  its  broad  streets 
and  attractive  squares  are  fulfillments  of 
the  plan  made  eighty-five  years  ago  by  Col- 
onel William  Light,  sent  out  from  England 
as  the  state's  first  Surveyor  General.  There 
was  a  great  deal  of  objection  when  Colonel 
chose  the  site  for  the  future  capital, 
but  residents  of  Adelaide  are 
today  inclined  to  bless  his 
foresight. 

He  laid  out  a  tract  of  land 
over  a  mile  square,  and  all 
around  it  he  reserved  a  strip 
of  woodland  for  park  pre- 
serves, which  now  are  splen- 
did breathing  spots  for 
the  population  of  50,000  in 
the  city  proper  and  four 
times  as  many  in  the  sub- 
urbs. These  park  lands  total 
1,900  acres,  while  the  area 
of  the  land  enclosed  by  them 
is  1,042  acres.  Thru  the 
center  of  the  city  runs  a 
pleasant  little  stream,  the 
■  River  Torrens,  which  effec- 
Educational  Building,  Adelaide.  tually    divides    the    business 


137 


138 


AUSTRALIA 


part  of  Adelaide,  south  of  the  river,  from  the  residential 
section. 

Adelaide  is  35  degrees  south  of  the  equator,  about  the 
same  distance  that  Memphis,  Tennessee,  is  north  of  it.  It  is 
six  miles  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  \''incent  and  hemmed  in  by  the 
mountains  of  the  Mount  Lofty  range.  So  it  was  no  surprise 
to  find  it  warm  there,  even  in  March,  but  it  was  somewhat 
staggering  to  find  the  thermometer  at  1 10  degrees  in  the  shade 
and  30  degrees  hotter  in  the  sun.  This  was  in  Australia's  mid- 
summer month,  our  midwinter.  Residents  assured  me  that  this 
was  unusual. 

At  night  the  mosquitoes  attacked  us  in  swarms,  and  it  was 
a  case  of  cover  up  your  head  with  a  sheet  or  be  unmercifully 
stung.  By  day  the  annoyance  was  kept  up  by  droves  of  flies. 
The  people  of  Adelaide  protect  themselves  by  veils  or  nets 
around  their  hats,  but  the  newcomer  is  well  bitten  before  he 


King  William  Street  i.s  the  principal  thorofare  of  Adelaide.  This 
South  Australia  city  is  an  example  of  city  planning.  The  man  who  laid 
out  the  city  in  1839  visualized  the  future  and  jirDvided  for  wide  streets. 
For  the  city  proper,  he  laid  out  a  section  one  mile  s(|uare,  and  hordering 
on  this,  forest  lands  were  reserved  for  ])laygrounds  for  the  people  of 
the  future. 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


139 


adopts  the  head  nets  or  seeks  refuge 
in  a  generous  anointment  of  oil  from 
the  nearest  drug  store. 

King  WilHam  Street,  the  principal 
business  thorofare  of  Adelaide,  is  as 
fine  a  street  as  one  could  wish  to  see. 
It  is  132  feet  wide  and  is  lined  with 
splendidly  kept  stores  and  business 
buildings.  The  business  portion  of 
the  city  lies  within  four  wide  spaces, 
or  terraces,  facing  the  cardinal  points 
of  the  compass,  and  all  the  streets 
meet  each  other  at  right  angles.  In 
Victoria  Square,  one  of  the  principal 
squares,  one  finds  most  of  the  build- 
ings in  which  the  offices  of  the  state 
government  are  housed.  Several 
blocks  north,  at  the  end  of  King  Wil- 
liam Street,  is  the  Governor's  city 
home,  surrounded  by  a  park.  Near 
by  are  libraries,  museum,  art  build- 
ings and  other  structures  which  have 
caused  Adelaide  to  be  called  "the  Athens  of  Australia." 

It  is  hard  to  realize  that  in  the  early  days  the  city  was 
divided  into  acre  lots,  which  sold  at  the  price  of  three  dollars 
each,  every  purchaser  being  limited  to  one  lot.  The  site  on 
which  the  town  hall  now  stands  was  bought  for  that  price  in 
1840.     Today  it  is  worth  $260,000. 

The  people  you  meet  on  the  streets  of  Adelaide  are  a  diver- 
sified lot,  and  an  ancient  "sundowner,"  or  tramp,  from  the  bush 
and  desert  districts,  is  not  uncommon  enough  to  attract  atten- 
tion. He  comes  into  town  with  his  "swag,"  or  bundle  of  cloth- 
ing on  his  back,  and  a  tin  pail  in  his  hand  for  the  boiling  of 
tea.  A  battered  slouch  hat  shields  his  weatherbeaten  face  and 
a  long  growth  of  shaggy  whiskers  rambles  down  his  vest  front. 
He  has  come  to  town  for  a  few  days  of  carousing  before  he 
again  takes  to  the  wilds. 


The  sundowner,  a  pic- 
turesque pioneer  who 
plays  his  part  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Australia. 


I40  AUSTRALIA 

At  certain  seasons,  just  before  the  beginning  of  winter  es- 
pecially, whole  tribes  of  blackfellows  visit  Adelaide  to  get  the 
blankets  which  the  government  gives  out.  They  might  just 
as  well  receive  these  blankets  on  the  reservations,  which  are 
maintained  for  them,  but  many  of  these  aborigines  still  live 
in  the  wild  places  from  choice  and  prefer  a  trip  to  the  city, 
even  tho  it  involves  many  weary  miles  of  trudging  on  foot. 

As  I  drove  thru  Adelaide  in  a  motorcar  on  the  way  to  the 
country  I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  the  homes  are  of  brick 
or  stone  and  not  of  wood.  This  is  the  result  of  a  law  which 
forbids  the  erection  of  a  wooden  structure  inside  the  limits  of 
the  city  proper.  The  heat  is  usually  so  great  and  the  rainfall 
so  light — twenty  inches  a  year  and  most  of  that  in  the  winter — 
that  wooden  buildings  are  considered  too  great  a  fire  menace. 
I  noticed,  too,  that  corrugated  iron  roofs  are  scarce  and  that 
tile  is  more  favored.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  making  of  brick,  tile  and  pottery  are  important  South 
Australian  industries.  Stone,  too,  is  plentiful  and  many  houses 
are  a  combination  of  stone  and  brick.  The  California  bungalow 
type  of  house  seems  to  be  the  favorite  and  a  majority  of  homes 
have  nice  front  gardens  and  hedges. 

The  streets  of  Adelaide  are  well  paved  with  asphalt  or 
wooden  blocks,  and  most  of  the  roads  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try are  excellent.  They  lead  to  splendid  dairying,  vineyard 
and  orchard  farms,  and  it  was  our  pleasure  to  see  on  this  trip 
what  is  called  the  best  Jersey  herd  in  the  state,  at  Linden  Park, 
the  country  estate  of  Mr.  Peter  Wood.  The  herd  boasts  both 
past  and  present  state  champion  milk  cows  and  the  best  show 
cow  in  the  state. 

A  stretch  of  broad  as])halt  road  six  miles  long  brings  you 
to  Port  Adelaide,  on  the  Ciulf  of  St.  \'incent.  the  place  thru 
which  South  Australia  ships  the  bulk  of  its  exports  of  $50,000,- 
000  a  year  and  receives  its  imports  of  $26,000,000.  Until  npS. 
the  facilities  at  Port  Adelaide  were  ina(le(|uate.  l>ig  ships 
were  forced  to  discharge  their  cargoes  by  lighter.  'I'oday  they 
can  come  right  up  lo  the  wharfs,  which  have  a  total  length 
of  3,200  feet  and  are  built  on   what  is  known  as  the  ( )utcr 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  141 

Harbor,  with  an  entrance  499  feet  wide.  The  smaller  vessels 
come  into  the  inner  harbor,  which  in  reality  is  the  mouth  of  a 
river  which  some  of  the  early  settlers  characterized  as  a 
"miserable  little  creek."  Since  those  days  it  has  been  dredged 
out  until  it  can  be  used  by  all  but  the  largest  vessels. 

To  Port  Adelaide  and  to  half  a  dozen  other  suburbs  there 
is  maintained  splendid  street  car  and  suburban  train  service. 
The  street  cars  are  modern  affairs  which  only  a  few  years  ago 
displaced  the  horse-drawn  cars,  first  to  give  a  service  of  this 
kind  in  Australia.  Power  is  obtained  from  the  plant  at  Port 
Adelaide,  which  supplies  "juice"  thru  two  stations  that  can 
be  operated  together  or  separately. 

It  is  said  that  few  of  the  260,000  persons  in  the  metropoli- 
tan area  of  Adelaide  and  its  suburbs  need  walk  more  than  a 
mile  before  they  can  get  a  ride  into  the  city.  The  street  car 
service  is  operated  by  the  Tram  Trust,  as  it  is  called,  and  is 
governed  by  a  board  of  eight  members,  two  of  whom  represent 
the  state  government  and  the  others  the  city  and  suburbs. 

Adelaide's  city  government  is  headed  by  a  lord  mayor,  six 
aldermen  and  a  dozen  councilors  from  the  six  wards  of  the 
city. 

One  thing  I  noticed  in  Adelaide  was  the  large  number  of 
children  and  old  persons.  Three  facts  to  be  found  in  the  gov- 
ernment statistics  explain  why.  South  Australia  leads  the 
Commonwealth  in  the  percentage  of  marriages ;  its  death  rate 
is  low — at  one  time  the  second  lowest  in  the  world, — and  its 
birth  rate  is  around  25  per  thousand  of  population. 

Weddings  are  so  numerous  in  Adelaide,  I  was  told,  that 
almost  every  motorcar  which  is  for  hire  is  either  white  or 
cream-colored.  The  first  auto  owner  who  had  white  cars 
found  they  were  in  such  demand  for  weddings  that  he  was  in 
a  fair  way  to  get  a  monopoly  of  the  business.  So  other  taxi 
owners  painted  their  cars  white,  too,  and  they  have  been  doing 
it  ever  since. 

But  even  tho  autos  are  plentiful  and  rates  reasonable,  the 
average  resident  of  Adelaide  seems  to  prefer  to  ride  in  an  old- 
fashioned  carry-all,   such  as  used  to  meet  the  trains   in  the 


142 


AUSTRALIA 


Many  of  the  early  explorers  in  South  Australia  were  sorely  dis- 
pleased by  the  fact  that  some  of  the  lakes  which  they  found  were  salty. 
That  salt  now  is  the  basis  of  one  of  the  j^reatest  industries  of  the  state, 
which  supplies  virtually  all  of  the  salt  for  the  Commonwealth  and  fur- 
nishes some  for  shipment  abroad.  The  picture  shows  piles  of  salt  re- 
claimed from  one  of  these  lakes. 


villages  of  the  United  States.  They  struck  me  as  queer  ve- 
hicles to  be  on  the  streets  of  so  ])ro^ressive  a  city,  esi)ecially 
since  most  of  them  are  rlravvn  by  diminutive  ponies,  which  seem 
all  the  smaller  when  hitched  to  such  bi^  vehicles. 

When  it  was  decided,  in  1834,  to  establish  a  colony  in  South 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  143 

Australia  it  was  proposed  to  make  it  a  model  affair,  which 
should  profit  by  the  mistakes  made  by  other  settlements.  For 
one  thing,  there  was  a  keen  desire  on  the  part  of  many  British 
to  have  one  of  the  settlements  of  the  new  land  consist  of  free 
inhabitants  only  and  to  forbid  convicts  from  being  sent  there 
when  they  were  deported  from  England,  or  from  coming  there 
after  they  had  served  their  term  in  the  penal  area. 

There  was,  also, .another  scheme  of  making  South  Australia 
a  replica  of  England  in  that  there  should  be  a  leisure  class  of 
gentlemen  and  land-owners,  with  servants  and  laborers  who 
should  be  prevented  from  becoming  independent  by  putting 
the  price  of  the  land  there  so  high  that  the  laborer  could  not 
afford  to  buy  it  and  so  set  up  for  himself.  This  scheme  was 
carried  out  in  part,  in  that  it  was  ordered  that  no  land  should 
be  sold  for  less  than  twelve  shillings  (three  dollars)  an  acre. 
The  receipts  from  the  sale  of  this  land  were  put  into  a  fund 
with  which  it  was  proposed  to  bring  out  from  England  a 
selected  class  of  immigrants. 

South  Australia  was  declared  a  province  of  Great  Britain 
in  1836,  two  years  after  the  passage  of  the  act  which  founded 
it  as  a  colony  of  the  empire.  Right  at  the  start  there  was  a  mix- 
up  because  authority  was  divided  between  a  board  of  eight 
commissioners  and  the  governor,  and  when,  in  1840,  the  colony 
was  refused  self-government  it  was  because  of  hopelessly  bad 
financing,  which  had  made  it  bankrupt.  It  was  spending  six 
times  as  much  as  its  revenue  and  its  people  were  importing  ten 
times  as  much  as  they  were  producing. 

England  delivered  a  master  stroke  when  it  made  Captain 
George  Gray  the  new  governor  of  the  colony.  He  chopped 
expenses,  cut  wages  to  a  minimum  so  as  to  drive  the  laborers 
out  of  the  city  and  onto  the  farms,  and  compelled  the  rich 
land-owners  to  sell  land  cheaper  than  the  governor  was  allowed 
to  by  law.  Then  England  paid  up  the  debt  of  the  colony  and 
gave  it  a  small  share  in  its  government  by  means  of  elective 
councilmen.  The  colony  was  told  that  when  it  could  pay  its 
own  way,  and  when  it  had  50,000  people,  it  could  become  self- 
governing.    By  1849,  or  twelve  years  after  the  first  start,  both 


144 


AUSTRALIA 


This  is  a  picture  of  one  of  the  gold  mines  in  the  "Golden  Mile" 
of  Western  Australia.  A  grocer  of  Adelaide  was  attracted  by  the  gold 
rush  to  Western  Australia  in  the  eighties,  but  arrived  too  late  to  get  in 
on  the  ground  where  the  first  gold  was  found.  Three  miles  away  he 
located  a  claim  and  started  to  work,  much  to  the  amusement  of  old-time 
miners.  But  he  had  the  last  laugh,  which  was  the  best  laugh.  Up  to 
1898,  when  working  the  mines  to  a  greater  depth  became  unprofitable, 
alluvial  gold  valued  at  $125,000,000  had  been  taken  from  the  Golden  Mile, 
the  district  located  by  the  Adelaide  grocer. 


condition.s  had  been  fulfilled  and  South  Australia  became  a 
state. 

In  the  years  prior  to  1900,  when  the  six  states  of  Australia 
became  united  in  the  Commonwealth,  South  Australia  was 
one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the  plan  for  federal  gov- 
ernment. Since  that  year  no  state  has  been  more  ready  to 
uphold  the  national  government  or  freer  of  the  jealousies  that 
have  always  existed  in  Australia. 

Today,  like  all  Australian  states,  it  is  under  a  governor 
named  by  the  crown,  but  it  is  really  governed  by  a  premier 
and  his  ministers  of  departments.  Its  legi.slation  is  taken  care 
of  by  a  parliament  oi  two  houses — an  assembly  of  forty-six 
members,  elected  one  from  each  of  the  districts  of  the  state, 
and  a  legislative  council  of  twenty  members,  four  from  each 
of  the  five  main  di\isions  of  the  state.     '\'\\c  fourteen  cabiiu't 


SOUTH  AUSTRAIJA  145 

portfolios  are  held  by  members  of  one  house  or  the  other. 
South  Australia  was  the  first  state  to  pay  the  members  of  its 
parliament ;  the  councilors  receive  $800  a  year  and  the  assem- 
blymen $2,400.  Since  1896  women  have  been  voting  for  mem- 
bers of  parliament. 

Since  South  Australia  gave  up  control  of  Northern  Terri- 
tory in  191 1  it  has  had  an  area  of  243,244,800  acres,  of  which 
more  than  half  is  occupied.  Because  of  its  peculiar  situation 
in  the  central-southern  ])art  of  the  Commonwealth,  it  is  the 
connecting  link  between  the  east  and  west  coasts.  It  is  virtually 
impossible  to  cross  Australia  at  any  other  part  because  of  the 
great  desert  which  lies  to  the  north  and  west. 

South  Australia's  claim  to  fame  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  was 
the  first  Australian  state  to  tax  unimproved  land  values ;  to 
grant  sufi:'rage  to  all  men ;  to  give  women  the  vote ;  to  adopt 
the  secret  ballot,  which  is  now  used  in  the  United  States  under 
the  name  of  the  Australian  ballot ;  to  put  into  efir'ect  the  Torrens 
system  of  land  registration,  by  which  title  is  always  kept  up ; 
and  to  build  the  first  line  of  railroad  in  the  country.  Both  the 
Torrens  system  and  Australian  Ijallot  were  adopted  in  the 
United  States  after  Australia  had  tried  them  out. 

That  its  people  were  progressive  was  indicated  early  in  the 
history  of  the  state.  Realizing  the  wonderful  possibilities  of 
its  rich  lands,  they  arranged  for  the  bringing  overland  of  cattle 
and  horses  from  New  South  Wales — over  trackless  mountains, 
thru  unknown  forests  and  across  strange  rivers.  It  was  the 
occasion  for  a  great  celebration  when  the  first  herd,  numbering 
335  head,  made  this  dangerous  trip  with  the  loss  of  only  four 
animals.  From  this  humble  beginning  has  grown  the  pastoral 
industry  of  the  state,  which  now  totals  270.000  horses,  350,000 
cattle,  80,000  pigs  and  7.000.000  sheep. 

In  spite  of  its  richness  of  soil  and  favorable  farming  condi- 
tions, South  Australia  has  the  same  problem  which  confronts 
its  sister  states — getting  more  of  its  people  into  the  country.  Of 
the  population  of  470.000,  more  than  half,  or  256.000.  are  to 
be  found  in  Adelaide  and  its  suburbs. 

This  flocking  to  towns  and   letting  the  country  go   hang 


146 


AUSTRALIA 


This  picture  shows  250,000  bags  of  wheat  in  storage  awaiting  shipment 
at  Wallaroo,  South  Australia. 

seems  to  be  an  Australian  characteristic,  but  nowhere  is  it 
shown  more  than  in  South  Australia.  The  state  government 
has  done  many  things  to  encourage  a  drift  away  from  the 
cities.  Its  land  laws  are  more  liberal  than  those  of  any  other 
state.  It  offers  good  land  at  reasonable  prices,  either  on  lease 
with  the  right  to  purchase,  or  by  outright  purchase,  in  which 
case  it  gives  forty  years  in  which  to  pay  and  makes  exceedingly 
easy  conditions  for  the  settlers. 

In  1908,  the  State  Parliament  passed  an  act  permitting  the 
government  to  make  advances  to  settlers  who  hold  leases  on 
crown  lands  or  who  have  signed  agreements  to  buy  such  lands. 
Advances  are  made  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  land,  purchas- 
ing stock  or  for  taking  up  mortgages  held  by  private  persons. 
Repayment  of  these  advances,  which  are  limited  to  $3,500  to 
any  one  settler,  is  extended  over  thirty  years.  Loans  are  also 
made  for  the  erection  of  fences  against  the  inroads  of  rabbits, 
which  are  greatly  destructive  to  crops  here,  and  for  dog-proof 
fences  in  pastoral  regions,  where  hordes  of  wild  dogs  have  in 
the  past  caused  great  losses  in  sheep  and  cattle. 

Thru  the  state  bank,  founded  in  1H95,  loans  arc  made  to 
farmers  to  the  extent  of  three-fifths  of  the  value  of  their  land 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  147 

and  improvements.  Workers  who  desire  to  own  their 
homes  can  obtain  advances  from  this  bank  under  a  law  passed 
in  1910,  which  Hmits  such  loans  to  those  whose  incomes  are  not 
above  $1,200  a  year.  The  bank  had  outstanding,  in  1921, 
$5,000,000  in  advances  to  settlers  and  $8,000,000  to  builders 
of  homes. 

The  state  government  maintains  a  splendidly  equipped 
agricultural  college  thirty  miles  north  of  Adelaide,  and  there 
are  three  experimental  farms  in  different  sections  where  rain- 
fall and  other  conditions  make  necessary  varied  methods  of 
farming.  The  college  has  a  staff  of  experts  with  whom  farmers 
may  consult  on  their  problems,  and  a  bureau  for  soil  and  seed 
analysis  is  maintained. 

In  spite  of  its  big  city  population,  South  Australia  claims 
it  is  the  agricultural  paradise  of  the  Commonwealth.  It  has 
2,500,000  acres  in  grain,  mostly  wheat,  60,000  acres  in  vine- 
yards, gardens  and  orchards,  and  1,500.000  acres  either  lying 
fallow  or  sown  in  grass — a  total  of  more  than  4,500,000  acres 
under  cultivation. 

As  early  as  1851,  wheat  from  South  Australia  took  first 
prize  in  competition  with  the  wheat  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 
The  wheat  yield  of  the  state  has  averaged  more  than  24,000,000 
bushels  a  year  for  the  last  ten  years.  The  average  yield  per 
acre — ten  and  a  half  bushels — during  that  period  does  not  look 
high  in  comparison  with  the  average  yields  of  America  and 
the  Argentine  Republic,  but  the  extremely  low  cost  of  produc- 
ing wheat  in  South  Australia  must  not  be  forgotten. 

To  get  into  the  real  wheat-growing  belt  of  South  Australia, 
you  go  north  out  of  Adelaide  to  Petersburg,  where  the  rail- 
road that  runs  to  the  Broken  Hill  mines,  just  over  the  New 
South  Wales  border,  connects  with  the  north  and  south  line 
between  Port  Augusta  and  Oodnadatta.  Petersburg  is  the 
place  thru  which  most  of  the  South  Australian  wheat  passes 
on  its  way  out  of  the  back  country.  Along  the  railways  which 
cross  there  you  see  big  stacks  of  wheat  in  sacks  awaiting  their 
chance  to  go  down  by  rail.  The  sacks  are  covered  with  corru- 
gated iron  against  the  weather.     That  is  the  way  Australian 


148  .  AUSTRAL/ A 

wheat  is  handled — in  sacks.  At  one  or  two  ports  grain  ele- 
vators have  been  tried  out,  however,  and  others  no  doubt  will 
speedily  follow. 

Around  Petersburg  there  is  an  annual  rainfall  of  thirteen 
inches,  and  by  the  addition  of  phosphates  the  ground  will  yield 
up  to  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre.  But  farther  north,  where 
the  maps  used  to  show  a  desert  which  the  early  explorers 
branded  as  unfit  for  cultivation,  there  has  come  about  a  great 
transformation  thru  the  discovery  that  underneath  thousands 
of  acres  of  land  there  lies  a  vast  supply  of  water,  which  has 
soaked  thru  the  porous  soil  and  been  caught  by  the  rock  strata 
eighty  to  two  hundred  feet  below. 

For  real  dry  farming,  however,  the  people  who  live  on 
Yorke's  Peninsula,  which  juts  out  of  the  South  Australian 
coast  line  like  a  huge  boot,  take  the  prize.  The  rainfall  there 
is  slight,  but  the  limestone  soil  is  well  adapted  to  wheat- 
growing  and  the  peninsula  farmers  have  learned  how  to  make 
their  land  produce  as  high  as  thirty-five  to  forty  bushels  to 
the  acre. 

A  large  part  of  South  Australia  is  well  adapted  to  the  rais- 
ing of  sheep  and  cattle.  Its  pasture  lands  are  rich  with  grass 
and  fodder  available  the  year  around.  There  is  no  severe 
winter  weather  as  the  United  States  and  Canada  know  winter. 
Snow  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  highest  parts,  and  the  winter 
months  mostly  are  rainy  and  without  the  cold  which  requires 
the  putting  up  of  stock  and  feeding  it  in  barns.  Many 
farmers  combine  wheat-growing  with  the  raising  of  sheep  and 
dairy  cattle,  and  this  has  given  rise  to  a  large  export  trade  in 
sheep,  mostly  lambs. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  price  of  wool  was  off  and  sheep 
were  almost  a  pest  in  South  Australia.  There  are  instances 
where  whole  flocks  were  slaughtered  because  it  cost  more  to 
keep  them  than  their  wool  would  bring.  Then  New  Zealand 
made  a  success  of  shipping  frozen  meat  to  England,  and  Aus- 
tralian sheep-raising  again  became  profitable.  In  1919  over 
vi8,ooo,ooo  worth  of  wool  was  exported  from  South  Australia. 

Co-o])crativc  butter  and  cheese  factories  arc  to  be  found  all 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


149 


over  the  state.  In  connection  with  the  state  produce  depart- 
ment at  Adelaide  the  government  maintains  a  hutter  factory, 
which  buys  the  cream  direct  from  the  dairies.  Much  butter 
is  shipped  to  England  each  season. 

White  Leghorns  are  the  most  favored  chickens  in  the  state, 
and  the  breed  has  been  brought  nearer  perfection  here  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  As  a  result  the  state  is  the 
greatest  exporter  of  poultry  and  eggs  in  the  Commonwealth. 

This  produce,  like  all  others  of  the  kind,  is  handled  thru 
the  state,  which  has  erected  at  Adelaide  freezing,  canning  and 
preserving  works,  a  butter  factory  and  a  by-products  factory. 


Hundreds  of  miles  of  these  concrete-lined  channels  carry  the  waters 
of  the  Murray,  longest  river  in  Australia,  into  the  arid  lands  which 
otherwise  would  not  be  productive  because  of  the  scant  rainfall.  This 
channel  is  part  of  the  extensive  irrigation  system  in  the  Berri  district, 
noted  for  its  splendid  fruit.  The  state,  which  is  back  of  all  irrigation 
projects,  builds  dams  and  reservoirs  and  digs  channels,  and  charges  set- 
tlers for  water  equaling  twenty- four  inches  of  rain  a  year. 


ISO 


AUSTRALIA 


The  produce  department  will  undertake  to  ship  and  sell  in 
London,  thru  a  trade  commissioner,  all  of  the  produce  which 
the  farmers  do  not  dispose  of  by  other  means.  It  will  take  the 
live  sheep,  kill  and  freeze  them  and  sell  the  meat  and  wool 
and  by-products.  The  state  freezing  works  have  a  capacity  of 
8,000  head  of  sheep  a  day,  and  a  cold-storage  plant  where 
200,000  carcasses  can  be  kept  at  a  time. 

If  the  farmer  is  hard  up  the  department  will  advance  him 
money  on  the  produce  entrusted  to  it  for  sale.  This  advance 
usually  is  three-fourths  of  the  estimated  market  value. 

Practically  every  fruit  of  the  subtropical  and  temperate 
places  of  the  earth  thrive  in  South  Australia  and  its  hills 
produce  fruits  of  North  America  which  look  and  taste  equally 
as  good.  Its  grapes,  both  white  and  blue,  are  delicious ;  its 
apples,  peaches  and  pears  have  a  splendid  flavor.  In  the  irri- 
gated districts  of  the  Murray  River,  fruit-raising  and  drying 
is  the  basis  of  one  of  the  largest  export  trades  of  the  state. 
Apples  and  oranges,  particularly,  thrive  there. 


For  a  thousand  miks,  part  of   the  year,  llic  Miina\'    Ri\Lr   is  nav 
igablc  in   South  Australia  and   New  South  Wales.     Boats  drawing  only 
a  few  feet  of  water  do  a  large  business. 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  151 

Wine-making  is  one  of  the  big  industries  in  South  Australia, 
both  blue  and  white  grapes  being  used.  Saloons  in  the  state 
are  required  to  close  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  as  a 
result  there  is  a  growing  industry  in  unfermented  wines,  grape 
juice  and  other  fruit  flavorings  for  soft  drinks. 

South  Australia  has  one  industry  which  is  peculiar  to  that 
state,  the  growing  of  the  wattle  tree,  a  species  of  eucalyptus, 
for  the  sake  of  its  bark,  which  is  largely  used  in  tanning.  So 
valuable  is  the  bark  that  immense  tracts  of  land  unsuitable 
for  agricultural  purposes  have  been  cleared  of  scrub  and 
planted  in  wattles.  In  many  parts  of  the  state  the  wattle 
grows  naturally  and  no  expense  is  incurred  for  planting  or 
cultivation.  Where  the  wattle  is  planted  the  trees  are  fit  for 
stripping  in  from  five  to  seven  years.  The  bark  brings  from 
$25  to  $35  a  ton.  Altho  large  quantities  are  used  in  the  local 
tanneries,  much  bark  is  shipped  to  other  states  or  overseas. 

One  of  the  big  agricultural  projects  in  South  Australia  is 
the  development  of  irrigation  in  the  Murray  River  district. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  schemes  of  its  kind 
south  of  the  equator.  The  Murray  is  the  largest  river  in 
Australia.  It  starts  from  the  snow-clad  heights  of  Mount 
Kosciusko,  7,256  feet  above  sea  level,  in  New  South  Wales, 
and  wanders  along  for  3,212  miles,  the  last  500  miles  in  South 
Australia.  For  a  distance  of  1,750  miles  it  is  navigable  part 
of  the  year. 

In  South  Australia,  the  Murray  ofifered  a  double  problem. 
It  runs  thru  low-lying  country  and  on  either  side  great  areas 
of  land  were  unsuited  for  anything.  Beyond  these  marshes 
were  great  tracts  of  land  which  would  prove  most  valuable  for 
agriculture  if  they  but  had  some  of  the  water  which  was  going 
to  waste  along  the  river.  So  the  government  went  to  work 
to  do  two  things — reclaim  those  lands  which  were  under  water 
and  take  the  water  and  put  it  where  it  would  be  of  some  use. 
For  many  miles  along  the  Murray  dikes  were  thrown  up  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  channel  and  then  the  land  behind  these 
dikes  was  drained. 

Then  the  government  established  reservoirs  and  into  them 


152 


AUSTRALIA 


Horses  are  in  such  demand  in  rnan\-  parts  vi  Australia  that  bullocks 
are  used  a  great  deal  for  hauling.  The  picture  shows  a  wagon  load  of 
white  grapes  being  delivered  at  a  crushing  plant.  From  the  sides  of 
the  vats  in  which  the  juice  is  treated  flakes  of  cream  of  tartar  are 
chipped,  a  by-product  of  the  wine  industry.  Refuse  from  the  crushing 
machines  goes  back  to  the  land  as  fertilizer.  South  Australia  is  noted 
for  its  Adelaide  malaga  grapes. 

pumped  water  from  the  Murray.  At  frequent  intervals  these 
reservoirs  are  emptied  into  concrete  irrigation  canals  which  are 
spread  in  a  network  over  the  arid  areas.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  water  supplied  is  equal  to  twenty-four  inches  of  rainfall  a 
year.  These  lands  are  given  out  under  perpetual  lease  in 
blocks  of  ten  to  fifty  acres,  and  lOO  acres  of  high  land  suitable 
for  sheep  is  given  to  the  holder  of  each  block. 

Perhaps  no  spot  of  the  state  is  richer  than  the  southeastern 
portion,  where  exceedingly  heavy  croi)s  of  potatoes,  on-ions, 
cereals  and  fruits  are  gathered.  Unfortunately,  the  land  is 
subject  to  floods,  but  the  state  government  is  spending  more 
than  $1,200,000  on  a  drainage  scheme  that  will  rid  the  land 
of  its  surplus  water  and  open  thousands  of  acres  for  occupa- 
tion. 

In  what  is  known  as  the  Pinnaroo  district,  toward  the  Vic- 
torian border,  it  once  was  thouglit  that  there  never  would  be 
any  agriculture.  There  are  no  ri\crs  there,  not  even  streams 
that  can  be  dignified  by  the  name  of  creeks,  but  water  was 
found  not  more  than  200  feet  under  the  surface,  and  what 
was  thought  to  be  a  desert  now  is  a  connlry  of  tanks  and  wells 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


•53 


— and  wheat.  "Ninety  Mile  Desert,"  so  called,  is  ninety  miles 
long  by  fifty  wide  and  has  almost  3,000,000  acres,  which 
have  been  made  subject  to  cultivation  by  boring  for  water  and 
finding  it.  One  man  tried  to  raise  wheat  there  in  1896  and 
succeeded.  ( )thers  have  followed  him  and  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time  till  the  whole  of  that  country  will  be  producing  wheat. 
A  railroad  runs  there  now,  a  sure  sign  that  South  Australia 
places  great  faith  in  the  future  of  that  once  deserted  district. 

Eyre's  Peninsula,  too,  has  two  lines  of  rails,  which  tap  a 
country  that  has  been  proved  to  have  water  at  shallow  depth. 
More  than  three- fourths  of  the  peninsula's  15,000,000  acres 
can  be  made  to  produce  wheat,  the  experts  say. 

Until  191 1,  the  state  of  South  Australia  handled  the  affairs 
of  the  Northern  Territory,  which  is  directly  north  of  South 


A    South    Australian    grape   arbor    from   which    grapes   are   picked   by 
the  wagon  load. 


154 


AUSTRALIA 


One  of  the  co-operative  butter  and  cheese  factories  of  South  Australia. 
Butter  is  a  staple  export  from  tl'KS  state  to  England. 

Australia.  Northern  Territory  had  been  explored  and  opened 
up  by  McDougall  Stuart,  a  South  Australian,  and  the  state 
was  very  jealous  of  the  efforts  of  Queensland  to  handle  the 
territory.  So  when,  about  1870,  it  was  decided  that  direct 
communication  with  England  by  wire  was  desirable,  South 
Australia  set  out  to  build  the  telegraph  line  that  should  connect 
the  cable  end  with  the  populated  southeastern  corner  of  Aus- 
tralia. 

A  cable  had  just  been  laid  between  the  United  Slates  and 
pAirope.  It  was  proposed  to  connect  England  and  Australia ; 
already  a  cable  had  been  laid  between  the  continent  and  Java. 
Naturally  it  would  Icjuch  Australia  on  the  north  when  extended, 
as  that  was  the  shortest  distance  and  permitted  of  the  use  of 
the  most  land  wires,  clieajjcr  to  build  and  maintain.  So  South 
-Vustralia  started  in  In  build  a  telegraph  line  from  I'ort  Darwin, 
capital  of  the  Northern  Territory,  to  Adelaide,  work  being 
done  at  both  ends  along  the  route  which  Stuart's  exj)loralions 
had  taken.  It  was  a  gigantic  tmdcrtaking,  for  nuich  of  the 
country  was  unknenvn.  It  was  diflicult  to  get  supplies  to  the 
laborers  and  hostile  blacks  were  to  l)e  reckoned  with.  Finally, 
however,  the  2,000  miles  of  telegraph  line  were  com])Uir(l  at 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


155 


a  cost  of  v$2,ooo,ooo  and  met  the  cable  at  Port  Darwin.  And 
this  was  at  a  time  when  the  colony  of  South  Australia  did  not 
have  more  than  200,000  people. 

It  is  along  this  route  that, it  is  proposed  to  build  the  railway 
which  will  cut  Australia  from  north  to  south,  its  southern 
terminus  being  Port  Augusta  and  its  northern  end  Port  Darwin. 
South  Australia  has  shown  its  desire  to  help  build  this  line 
by  giving  to  the  commonwealth  government  624  miles  of  state- 
owned  railways  between  Port  Augusta  and  Oodnadatta,  near 
the  Northern  Territory  border,  and  more  than  half  a  million 
square  miles  of  adjacent  lands.  By  utilizing  this  railway  the 
Commonwealth  will  be  able  to  construct  the  north  and  south 
railway  across  Australia  at  its  narrowest  point. 

Today,  this  north  and  south  railway  ends  at  Oodnadatta, 
an  insignificant  little  village  in  appearance,  but  in  reality  im- 
portant, for  it  is  from  there,  or  rather  from  Hergott  Springs, 
near  there,  that  the  camel  trains  outfit  for  the  long  journeys 
across  the  desert  to  the   "back  of  beyond"  country.     It  has 

long  been  a  matter  of  rec-        . ist^ 

ord  that  a  camel  can  go  '^A^ 
many  days  without  wa- 
ter and  in  Australia  they 
have  been  known  to  go 
serenely  along  for  fif- 
teen days  over  359  miles 
of  desert  and  not  dis- 
play undignified  haste  to 
drink  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  journey. 

While  we  were  in  Ade- 
laide an  advance  party 
was  sent  out  with  camel 
trains  and  donkeys  to 
traverse  the  route  and 
leave  gasoline  for  motorcars  which  later  were  to  convey  a 
royal  commission  of  engineers  over  the  route  before  final 
decision  on  the  rail  route  is  made. 


■*'->-•?!''■. 


Maid  of  Linden,  champion  milk  cow  of  South 
Australia,  is  a  6-year-old  Jersey,  owned  by  \{r. 
Peter  Wood  of  Linden  Park.  His  herd  includes 
the  present  and  past  champion  milk  cows  of 
the  state.  This  cow,  125  days  after  calving,  was 
giving  forty-two  pounds  of  milk  a  day. 


156 


AUSTRALIA 


South  Australia  has 
been  noted  for  its  railroad 
building.  It  laid  the  first 
stretch  of  state  -  owned 
tracks  in  the  British  Em- 
pire. The  lines  now 
open  for  traffic  in  the 
state  are  2,242  miles  long. 
The  most  difficult  feat  of 
railroad    building    in    the  '^mmsi^ 

state  was  the  line  which  conned^  Adchiuic  with  Melbourne. 
/\delaide  is  surrounded  by  hills,  the  Mount  Lofty  range,  and 
to  get  the  railroad  thru  them  it  was  necessary  to  bore  nine  tun- 


An  iroiLstonc  (|uarry  in  the  Imn  Kiioh  .Mountain.  IJoth  the  Iron 
Knob  and  tlie  Iron  Monarch  mines  arc  owned  l)y  the  Hroken  Hill  Com- 
pany and  tlic  ore  mined  there  is  .shiijped  by  private  railway  to  Fal.se 
Bay,  then  by  steamer  to  Newcastle,  where  it  is  used  in  the  Hroken  Hill 
Company's  great  steel  plant. 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


157 


In  tlie  noriluTii  part  of  the  state  of  South  Australia 
there  is  little  water  aUrng  the  routes  which  must  be  taken 
to  reach  the  hackblock  stations  whence  comes  much  of  the 
fine  wool  grown  in  the  state.  It  has  been  proved  that 
camels  are  the  best  means  of  transport  in  this  dry  coun- 
try, so  large  numbers  of  these  animals  have  been  intro- 
duced with  their  Afghan  drivers.  They  carry  supplies 
from  the  railroad  to  the  settlers  in  the  back  districts  and 
bring  out  the  wool.  Camels  in  some  of  these  caravans 
bave  been  known  to  go  as  many  as  fifteen  days  without  wa- 
ter and  they  proved  invaluable  to  the  railroad  builders 
who  put  in  the  lines  across  the  South  Australian  deserts. 


nels  and  build  an 
iron  viaduct  over 
a  gorge  that  is 
620  feet  across. 
The  road  is  now 
operated  jointly 
liy  the  Victorian 
and  South  Aus- 
tralian govern- 
ments. 

From  Port  Au- 
gusta, where  the 
South  Australian 
railway  ends, 
starts  the  com- 
monwealth-owned 


t  r  a  nscontinental 
stretch  of  railroad  which  connects  at  Kalgoorlie  with  the  lines  to 
Perth,  on  the  west  coast.  It  is  1,963  miles  long  and  was  built 
under  great  difficulties,  because  for  hundreds  of  miles  it  crosses 
the  desert.  One  stretch  of  it  runs  for  300  miles  in  a  straight 
line  without  a  single  curve.  Its  completion  linked  the  capitals 
of  all  the  states  by  rail. 

South  Australia  showed  enterprise,  too,  when  it  built  a 
railroad  northeast  across  the  border  of  New  South  Wales  and 
made  it  possible  to  bring  out  the  product  of  the  great  Broken 
Hill  silver-lead  mines,  which  is  smelted  at  Port  Pirie. 

Mining  plays  a  large  part  in  the  industry  of  the  state,  and 
its  great  copper  mines  have  long  been  famous.  The  Kapunda 
mines,  discovered  in  1842  and  closed  down  in  1878  by  a  large 
influx  of  water,  are  to  be  reopened  in  the  belief  that  great 
bodies  of  ore  are  still  to  be  found  there.  Before  they  shut 
down  they  had  produced  more  than  $4,000,000  worth  of  copper. 
Almost  five  times  that  amount  was  produced  by  the  Burra 
Burra  mine  before  it  was  closed  down.  When  capital  is 
available  it  is  believed  that  Burra  Burra  also  may  come  back 
again.     Two  big  copper  mines,  the  Wallaroo  and  the  Moonta, 


158  AUSTRALIA 

discovered  in  the  early  sixties,  still  are  being  worked  and  have 
produced  some  $60,000,000  worth  of  copper.  Ore  from  both 
these  mines  is  smelted  at  Port  Wallaroo.  There  are  copper 
mines  at  a  number  of  places  in  the  Flinders  range,  and  the 
completion  of  the  transcontinental  railway  has  opened  the 
way  for  the  shipment  of  ore  from  the  Mount  Gunson  mine, 
near  Port  Augusta. 

Two  almost  solid  mountains  of  iron  ore.  Iron  Knob  and 
Iron  Alonarch,  are  owned  by  the  Broken  Hill  Company  and 
the  ore  is  shipped  by  the  company's  private  railway  of  thirty- 
six  miles  to  False  Bay  and  then  conveyed  by  steamer  to  New- 
castle, on  the  east  coast,  where  it  is  smelted  and  used  in  the 
great  steel  plant  of  the  Broken  Hill  concern. 

South  Australia  is  the  principal  producer  in  the  Common- 
wealth of  salt  and  rock  phosphates,  and  possesses  the  only 
radium  mines  being  worked  in  Australia.  High-grade  gypsum, 
granite,  freestone,  slate,  marble,  and  ochre  for  the  making  of 
paint,  are  other  minerals  which  have  been  discovered  in  the 
state  and  are  being  mined.  Gold  is  found  in  South  Australia 
in  small  quantities  only,  when  compared  with  the  production 
in  other  states,  but  a  fair  quantity  has  been  obtained  from  reefs 
in  the  ]\Iount  Lofty  range  and  from  some  alluvial  deposits. 
The  government  has  lent  assistance  to  the  companies  which 
are  working  the  reefs,  by  erecting  batteries  and  cyanide  plants 
at  four  locations. 

Little  coal  is  to  be  found  in  the  state,  and  indeed  there  is 
no  great  demand  for  it  as  fuel,  for  it  has  been  found  that  the 
mallee  tree,  a  scrubby  species  of  gum,  is  almost  as  good  as 
coal.  The  trees,  which  are  crooked,  knotty  and  unfit  for  use 
as  lumber,  are  sawed  into  convenient  lengths  and  shipped  to 
towns  and  cities.  Later,  when  the  farmer  is  ridding  his  land 
of  stumps,  he  finds  that  he  has  another  source  of  revenue  in 
them,  for  they  are  much  in  demand  as  fuel  for  factories  and 
other  industries.  All  along  the  railway  lines  I  saw  great  piles 
of  malice  stumps. 

Perhaps  the  fact  that  South  Australia  has  the  most  thrifty 
inhabitants  of  the  Commonwealth  is  accounted  for  l)y  the  fact 


SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 


159 


that  it  has,  since  1848,  maintained  a  savings  bank  as  a  state 
institution,  with  twenty-six  branches  in  the  principal  towns  and 
ahnost  300  agencies  in  other  places.  Deposits  may  be  trans- 
ferred free  to  this  state  savings  bank  from  all  other  savings 
banks  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  those  who  have  money  on 
a'eposit  in  the  British  postoffice  savings  bank  at  "home"  may 
have  their  accounts  transferred  without  charge  if  they  go  to 
South  Australia.  The  latest  available  figures  show  321,000 
depositors  with  deposits  totaling  more  than  $50,000,000,  an 
average  of  almost  a  hundred  dollars  for  each  inhabitant  of 
the  state. 

Education  is  well  taken  care  of  in  the  state.  Children  from 
seven  to  thirteen  years  of  age  are  required  to  attend  school, 
which  is  free  and  non-sectarian.    Tuition  in  the  secondary  or 


Silver  lead  bullion  piled  up  on  the  wharf  at  Port  Pirie,  South  Aus- 
tralia, where  all  of  the  ore  from  the  famous  mines  of  the  Broken  Hill 
Company  is  smelted.  Broken  Hill  lies  just  over  the  border  in  the  state 
of  New  South  Wales,  but  South  Australia  built  a  railroad  to  tap  these 
mines  and  as  a  result  a  South  Australian  port  is  credited  with  the  ship- 
ments of  the  bullion. 


i6o  AUSTRALIA 

high  schools  also  is  free,  and  it  is  possible  for  a  student  to 
pass  thru  the  primary  and  high  schools,  and,  by  means  of 
scholarships,  thru  the  university,  without  extra  cost  to  his 
parents.  The  government  alone  oft'ers  more  than  ninety  scholar- 
ships. 

Like  other  Australian  states.  South  Australia  now  spends 
more  than  its  revenue  each  year — an  average  deficit  of  about 
sixty  cents  for  each  inhabitant.  Until  19 14,  when  the  great 
war  began,  it  had  a  surplus  each  year,  but  since  that  year  there 
has  been  but  one  year.  1917-18,  when  it  came  out  on  the  right 
side. 

It  owes  $i7o,cxx),ooo,  an  average  of  almost  $375  for  each 
inhabitant  (the  United  States  owes  $400  for  each  person),  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  Australia's  war  loans  were  tre- 
mendous, and  that  South  Australia  is  in  debt  for  its  propor- 
tionate share.  It  operates  its  state-owned  railways  and  busi- 
nesses at  a  profit,  but  during  and  since  the  war  it  has  increased 
taxes  more  than  fifty  per  cent  without  making  ends  meet.  It 
is,  however,  a  matter  of  but  a  short  time  until  South  Australia 
will  once  more  be  living  within  its  means. 

To  get  a  complete  line  on  the  production,  soil  and  climate 
of  Victoria,  New  South  Wales  and  South  Australia,  you  must 
read  what  I  report  on  the  other  states  together  as  they  are 
much  more  alike  in  Australia  than  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  IX 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA  AND  NORTHERN  TERRITORY 

IF  YOU  land  from  the  west  you  will  first  set  foot  on  the 
Commonwealth  in  the  state  of  Western  Australia. 
In   the   great   museum   at   Amsterdam,    Holland,   are   two 
plates — common  affairs  of  tin,  such  as  you  will  find  at  any 

picnic  party  —  which 
should  be  given  a  place  of 
honor  in  some  Western 
Australian  historical  ex- 
hibit. They  prove  that 
Dick  Hartog,  a  Dutch  ad- 
venturer, was  about  the 
first  white  man  to  set  foot 
on  Australia.  On  one  of 
these  plates  he  scratched 
his  name,  the  name  of  his 
ship  and  the  date,  and 
nailed  it  to  the  trunk  of 
a  tree  on  the  inhospitable 
coast  of  what  is  now 
Western  Australia.  Many 
years  later  another  Dutch 
explorer  came  along, 
found  the  plate  and  over 
it  nailed  one  of  his  own, 
also  properly  inscribed. 

Neither  of  these  men 
had  any  idea  of  the  im- 
mensity of  the  land  they 
had  discovered.  Nor  did 
W  i  1 1  i  a  m   Dampier,   an 


A  pearl  diver  ready  to  be  lowered  into  the 
water.  A  pearl,  valued  at  $30,000,  was  found  off 
Broome  Lighthouse  in  what  is  known  as  a  blister 
of  mother-of-pearl.  Opening,  paring  and  inves- 
tigating is  tedious  work  and,  quite  often,  fruitless. 
The  shell  rleaner  to  whom  was  intrusted  this 
particular  job  was  discouraged  and  wanted  to  quit. 
Continuing,  however,  he  was  rewarded  with  a 
pearl  of  surprising  value. 


i6i 


1 62  AUSTRALIA 

English  buccaneer,  who  came  along  in  1688,  mapped  the  coast 
line  and  sent  out  parties  to  explore  the  interior.  The  forbid- 
ding coast  and  the  desert  beyond  it  resulted  in  a  report  that 
the  land  was  "the  most  miserable  on  earth,"  and  inhabited  by 
a  race  of  black  savages  hopelessly  hostile.  The  same  view  was 
expressed  by  the  explorers  who  came  after,  and  the  country 
was  left  severely  alone. 

Today,  Western  Australia  occupies  nearly  one-third  of  the 
continent  of  Australia ;  it  is  as  large  as  all  of  the  United 
States  east  of  the  Alississippi  River,  yet  its  population  of 
340,000  is  less  than  that  of  Vermont.  Of  that  population  fully 
forty  per  cent  live  in  the  city  of  Perth  and  its  surrounding 
small  towns. 

The  British  flag  was  hoisted  over  Western  Australia  in 
1 82 1,  but  it  was  not  until  1829  that  it  was  formally  annexed 
by  the  British  Empire.  Its  story  is  a  good  deal  like  that  of 
our  own  California,  whose  "forty-nine"  has  its  duplicate  in 
the  "roaring  nineties"  of  Western  Australia.  It  was  in  1887 
that  gold  was  discovered,  but  the  boom  really  started  with 
the  sensational  finds  at  Kalgoorlie  and  Coolgardie.  It  was  then 
that  the  land  of  "sin,  sun,  sand  and  sore  eyes,"  as  it  had  been 
nicknamed,  came  into  its  own.  Hitherto  unknown,  she  became 
famous  almost  overnight.  The  "gropers,"  as  the  native-born 
whites  are  called,  were  forced  into  activity  by  the  coming  of 
the  "tothersiders."  The  state  was  given  a  government  of  her 
own,  and  her  greatest  son,  John  Forrest,  later  Lord  Forrest, 
the  only  native-born  Australian  to  attain  the  peerage,  was  made 
Premier.  It  was  due  largely  to  Forrest's  ability  to  see  into  the 
future  that  a  bold  standard  of  development  was  adopted.  With- 
in four  years  after  the  Coolgardie  discoveries  a  railway  had 
been  pushed  along  the35omiles  from  Perth  to  the  mining  camps. 

I  was  greatly  amused  at  the  story  told  me  of  the  discovery 
of  gold.  A  cattleman,  riding  range  in  the  highly  mineralized 
district  of  Roebourne,  picked  up  a  rock  to  throw  at  a  crow. 
'J'lic  unusual  weight  of  the  stone  ini])ellc(l  him  to  look  at  it 
closely,  when  he  found  tlial  the  lunij)  was  a  nugget  of  almost 
pure  gold.     \\  hen   he   re])orU(l   liis  discovery  an   incredulous 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


163 


official  merely  asked :  "And  what  became  of  the  crow  ?" 
A  grocer  of  Adelaide,  South  Australia,  who  was  attracted 
by  the  gold  rush  but  who  came  there  too  late  to  get  in  on  the 
ground  where  the  early  discoveries  had  been  made,  located  a 
claim  some  three  miles  away.  Old-time  miners  laughed  at 
him,  but  he  set  to  work  on  it.  Their  laughter  did  not  last 
long.  He  had  discovered  what  afterwards  came  to  be  known 
as  the  Golden  Mile,  and  from  which,  up  to  1898,  when  the 
great  depth  made  working  unprofitable,  alluvial  gold  valued 
at  $125,000,000  had  been  taken.  Contrasted  with  his  luck  is 
the  fate  of  Paddy  Hannan,  the  prospector  who  found  the  first 
gold — he  is  today  a  pensioner  of  the  state ! 

The  sites  of  these  great  mines  did  not  greatly  appeal 
to  me — barren,  sandy  deserts,  with  a  sun  that  blisters  and 
tortures,  where  a  whole  year's  rainfall  may  be  precipitated 
in  one  day,  or  where  years  may  go  by  without  enough  rain  to 
wet  the  ground.  Getting  water  to  the  mines  was  the  great 
problem  in  those  early  days,  but  even  tho  Western  Australia 
had  at  that  time  only  127,000  people  she  set  about  the  ambi- 
tious scheme  of  bringing  water  from  the  coast,  351  miles  away. 
The  result  was  a  steel  main,  thirty-three  inches  in  diameter, 


»aii»-:ii;i^i..',».-j>.jg 


i 


A  group  of  mines  in  the  Golden  Mile  district. 


164 


AUSTRALIA 


The  tailing  dump  and  elevator  of  the  Great  Boulder  mine  in  the  Golden 

Mile  district. 


thru  which  the  water  takes  a  month  to  travel  and  is  then 
raised  1,290  feet  and  emptied  into  a  reservoir  with  a  capacity 
of  five  million  gallons.  It  cost  twelve  million  dollars  to  build 
that  water  line,  but  it  supplies  water  to  consumers  at  75  cents 
per  1,000  gallons,  where  the  former  price  was  $12. 

Many  of  the  mines  have  of  course  played  out.  and  more 
recent  discoveries  have  not  proved  bonanzas,  but  I  have  run 
across  many  well-informed  mining  experts  who  believe  that 
some  day  Western  Australia  will  again  have  a  boom  in  mining, 
and  that  her  vast  riches  did  not  play  out  with  the  decadence 
of  Kalgoorlie  and  Coolgardie,  where  the  rich  alluvial  deposits 
almost  at  the  surface  have  been  replaced  by  lower-grade  drifts 
as  the  mines  have  been  sunk  deeper  and  deeper.  That  the 
state  government  also  shares  that  belief  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  it  has  established  twenty-eight  batteries  where  miners 
may  have  their  ore  tested.  F.ven  today,  however,  with  her 
dwin(lliii<,f  mining  activities,  the  state  ])n)(luces  more  gold  than 
all  i1k'  rest  (if  the  ( "onimonweallh  combined;  U])  to  1  )eocmber, 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


165 


1920,  nearly  34,000,000  fine  ounces,  valued  at  half  a  billion 
dollars,  had  been  produced. 

But  gold  is  not  the  only  egg  in  the  mining  basket  of  "Wes- 
tralia,"  as  the  state  has  been  nicknamed.  In  addition,  she  pro- 
duces copper  and  lead,  silver,  tin,  zinc,  asbestos,  iron,  antimony, 
manganese,  graphite  and  other  minerals.  At  Yampi  Sound 
a  field  of  more  than  a  hundred  million  tons  of  rich  iron  ore 
has  been  located,  and  not  long  ago  new  seams  of  coal  were 
found  in  the  already  extensive  Collie  fields. 

With  the  development  of  mining  has  gone  hand  in  hand 
the  building  of  railroads.  This  work  has  been  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  so  much  of  the  state  is  a  desert — over  800,000 
square  miles  of  the  land  has  a  population  of  less  than  one 
thousand.  Rails  and  supplies,  and,  above  all,  water,  had  to 
be  transported  great  distances.  Camels  were  the  only  beasts 
of  burden  which  could  be  used  for  the  arduous,  waterless  trips. 
Even  today  these  patient  beasts  are  used  in  the  sandy  out- 
spaces  at  the  rail-ends.  I  found  it  an  interesting  sight  to  see 
them  plodding  along  with  their  loads  of  food  and  water  for 
the  missions  and  stations. 

A  dozen  or  twenty  even  of  these  ships  of  the  desert  there 
may  be  in  a  train,  driven  by  a  few  silent  men,  whose  faces  are 


As  prospecting  and  mining  became  less  profitable  in  Western  Aus- 
tralia, men  turned  to  farming,  and  tbe  agricultural  wealth  will  in  time 
surpass  the  mineral  wealth.  This  picture  was  taken  on  the  state  farm 
at  Narrogin. 


i66  AUSTRALIA 


A  herd  of  cattle  on  the  state  farm  at  Brunswick. 

wrinkled  and  whose  eyes  squint  from  the  constant  glare  of  sun 
upon  sand,  relieved  only  by  mirages  of  lakes  and  streams  which 
they  know  are  not  there.  I  enjoyed  watching  the  faces  of  those 
in  our  party  who  had  never  seen  a  mirage  before  as  they  dis- 
covered that  the  alluring  streams,  which  they  were  so  willing 
to  bet  lay  just  beyond,  faded  into  stretches  of  sand  as  we 
approached. 

Some  idea  of  the  region  may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that 
the  transcontinental  railroad  across  this  desert  was  laid  out 
with  a  compass,  and  that  for  the  greater  part  of  its  length  no 
surveyor's  level  was  needed.  For  one  stretch  of  over  three 
hundred  miles  there  is  neither  a  curve  nor  a  grade.  It  is  a 
dreary,  monotonous  trip  for  those  who  depend  on  scenery  to 
relieve  the  tediousness  of  train  travel. 

While  the  mining  industry  has  waxed  and  waned,  agricul- 
ture, like  the  railroads,  has  moved  steadily  forward.  The 
early  settlers,  the  gr()])crs,  those  who  had  ct)nie  before  the  inllux 
of  miners,  .sooii  found  that  it  was  just  as  profitable  to  raise 
food  to  sell  at  high  ])rices  as  it  was  to  follow  the  noiie  too  sure 
lure  of  tlic  ])\ck  and  shovel.  lUil  it  is  oiil)-  witliin  the  last 
fifteen  years  that  the  full  possibilities  of  the  land  have  been 
realized.  Up  to  that  time  the  state  did  not  raise  enough  wheat 
to  supply  its  own  small  population,     liigh  averages,  however, 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


167 


resulted  in  more  and  more  encouragement  being  offered  settlers 
by  the  government. 

In  the  early  days,  the  so-called  dry  areas  presented  seem- 
ingly insurmountable  difficulties  to  the  man  in  search  of  raw 
land  for  himself.  The  ones  who  did  take  up  land,  however, 
found  that  if  they  worked,  and  used  their  heads,  they  could 
make  it  pay.  However,  Western  Australia  still  is  a  country 
of  large  holdings ;  official  figures  show  that  one  hundred  per- 
sons hold  between  them  forty  million  acres,  most  of  which  is 
devoted  to  cattle  raising. 

One  outstanding  feature  of  the  land  in  the  dry  areas,  the 
finest  part  of  the  wheat  belt  and  the  part  where  dairying  is 
advancing,  is  its  wonderful  recuperative  ability.  The  disas- 
trous season  of  1914,  for  instance,  which  was  felt  all  over 
Australia,  reduced  the  yield  to  less  than  two  bushels  of  wheat 
to  the  acre,  yet  the  very  next  season  brought  a  record  harvest 
of  ten  and  a  half  bushels  to  the  acre.  Since  the  war  the  average 
yield  of  the  state  has  been  around  the  ten  million  bushel  mark. 

In  192 1  more  than  seven  million  acres  were  being  used  for 
agricultural  and  pastoral  purposes,  over  a  million  and  a  half 


Setth-rs  in  the  tropical  Northern  Territory  of  Australia,  the  only 
district  which  has  not  attained  to  statehood,  have  two  pests  to  fight — ants 
and  flying  insects — and  foil  them  by  building  their  houses  on  stilts  and 
inserting  a  tin  between  the  piles  and  the  floor  of  the  house.  Insects 
are  kept  out  and  the  houses  kept  cool  by  sides  of  reeds  fastened  to  light 
wood  frames.  Roofs,  as  elsewhere  in  Australasia,  are  of  corrugated 
iron.    The  same  material  is  used  for  the  ever-present  water  tank. 


i68  AUSTRALIA 

being  under  crop.  The  state  has  just  reached  the  point  where 
she  can  begin  to  dispense  with  the  huge  quantities  of  dairy  pro- 
duce, potatoes  and  such,  which  she  has  been  getting  from  the 
other  states. 

Early  in  her  history  Western  AustraHa  was  free  of  the 
rabbit  pest,  just  as  now  she  is  free  from  the  English  sparrows, 
which  are  so  troublesome  in  the  eastern  states.  It  was  felt, 
however,  that  it  was  only  a  matter  of  time  before  the  rabbit 
would  arrive,  so  the  government  attempted  to  block  off  the 
state  with  rabbit-proof  fences  before  the  pests  showed  up. 
Some  two  thousand  miles  of  fencing  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  a 
million  and  a  quarter,  one  fence  extending  from  a  rocky  cliff 
on  the  south  coast  right  across  the  continent  to  the  north 
coast ;  later  two  other  fences  were  built  west  to  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Even  at  that,  today  the  bunnies  are  to  be  found  on 
both  sides  of  the  fence. 

The  land  laws  in  Western  Australia  are  probably  more 
generous  to  the  settler  than  in  any  other  state,  and  there  is 
much  rich  land  which  may  be  obtained  free  here  which  in  other 
states  would  cost  a  large  sum  per  acre.  In  fact,  the  govern- 
ment is  so  anxious  to  attract  settlers  that  i6o-acre  farms  are 
offered  free  except  for  the  small  fee  for  surveying  and  registry. 
The  State  Agricultural  Bank  will  advance  up  to  $8,000  to 
settlers.  This,  in  connection  with  the  policy  of  pushing  rail- 
roads into  the  new  farming  sections,  is  expected  soon  to  bring 
the  desired  population.  The  artesian  well,  or  "bore,"  as  the 
Australians  call  it,  is  practicable  over  thousands  of  square 
miles,  wiiich  await  only  the  coming  of  the  settler  to  make 
productive. 

One  other  thing  is  needed — a  great  \H)vt  from  which  the 
products  of  the  interior  may  be  shipped.  The  best  available 
harbor  is  at  Fremanlle.  twelve  miles  from  Perth,  the  capital, 
and  that  in  the  beginning  was  only  a  sandbar-locked  river 
mouth.  The  task  of  Ituilding  the  h;irbor  was  given  to  C.  Y. 
O'Connor,  an  engineer  of  ports,  and  to  whom  must  be  given 
credit  almost  ecjual  that  accorded  Lord  Forrest  as  a  builder 
of  the  state.     l'>ngineer  ( )'("onnor,  at  a  cost  of  $7,500,cxx>.  creat- 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


169 


A  view  of  Frcmantlc  harbor. 


ed  a  splendid  harbor.  Today  Fremantle  is  a  pretty  little  city 
of  20,000,  a  Slimmer  resort  and  the  port  at  which  most  trav- 
elers from  Europe  first  touch  Australia.  But  the  coast  line 
of  the  state  is  long,  and  there  is  felt  an  urgent  need  for  another 
port,  against  the  day  whe:i  the  hinterland  becomes  developed ; 
search  is  even  now  being  made  for  a  practical  location. 

"How  long  is  the  coast  line  of  Western  Australia?"  1  asked 
an  enthusiast  who  had  been  telling  me  about  the  state. 

"I'm  blest  if  I  know,"  he  admitted,  so  I  set  to  work  to  dig 
out  the  information  for  myself.  After  looking  thru  all  the 
available  books  on  Western  Australia,  and  having  asked  the 
question  a  dozen  or  more  times  without  results,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  only  way  to  find  out  is  to  go  and  measure  it. 
Even  in  a  British  Admiralty  chart,  that  Bible  of  those  who  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  I  found  no  real  answer,  but  a  warn- 
ing which  struck  me  as  significant :  "Masters  of  vessels  should 
be  careful  when  navigating  the  northwest  coast,  because  it 
has  not  as  yet  been  fully  surveyed  or  charted." 

It  struck  me  that  there  must  be  a  wonderful  country  be- 
hind this  uncharted  coast.  I  learned  that  those  venturesome 
explorers  who  have  traversed  the  northwest  have  brought 
back  reports  that  point  to  it  as  promising  some  day  to  be  one 


170 


AUSTRALIA 


of  the  most  valuable  assets  of  the  state ;  that  day,  however, 
is  still  distant,  because  only  when  people  settle  there  in  large 
numbers  can  it  become  really  productive. 

Not  even  along  the  western  coast,  before  you  round  North- 
west Cape  and  pass  thru  the  Dampier  Islands  to  the  true 
northwest  coast,  has  the  settler  made  any  real  stand.  Yet 
that  land  is  rich  in  agricultural  possibilities,  provided  common 
sense  and  a  knowledge  of  the  soil  and  moisture  is  used  in  tilling 
it.  Common  sense,  for  instance,  such  as  was  employed  by  one 
farmer  living  near  Carnarvon,  not  far  from  where  the  Gascoyne 
River  empties  into  Sharks  Bay.  The  Gascoyne  is  a  surprising 
river.  The  first  white  man  who  visited  it  reported  that  its  bed 
was  dry  and  sandy.  Then  some  one  discovered  that  while  its  bed 
might  be  dry,  beneath  it  the  river  was  flowing  merrily  along, 
and  that  for  a  hundred  miles  back  from  the  mouth  this  was 


This  ih  a  view  ijf  I'crlh,  capital  of  WlsIiiii  Australia.  It  is  a  com- 
paratively new  city  because  it  is  only  in  the  last  twenty  years — since  the 
i^reat  ',:,(>](]  fields  were  discovered — that  it  has  been  built  on  modern  lines. 
Includinfr  suburbs,  it  has  a  i)oi)ulation  of  110,000.  The  photograph  shows 
the  railway  station,  terminal  for  the  east  and  west  lines  which  link  all 
of  the  capitals  of  Australian  states. 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


171 


A  street  scene  in  Perth.     Looking  east  in  St.  George's  Terrace. 

true.  So  this  intelligent  farmer  bored  into  the  ground  a  bare 
twenty-four  feet  and  struck  water — great  quantities  of  it. 
He  sank  a  number  of  wells  and  today  gasoline  engines  and 
windmills  are  pouring  upon  his  acres  a  crop-producing  flood. 
He  also  found  that  a  half  ton  of  lime  and  200  pounds  of  super- 
phosphate to  the  acre  put  his  land  into  first-class  bearing  condi- 
tion. His  farm  now  produces  alfalfa  that  yields  six  cuttings 
a  year. 

Others  have  followed  his  example,  yet  there  still  is  a  wide 
expanse  of  territory  between  the  Murchison  and  Ord  Rivers 
and  in  the  Kimberley  mine  district,  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  long  and  extending  more  than  two  hundred  miles  back 
from  the  coast,  where  there  are  less  than  7,000  white  people. 
There  are  more  than  twenty  rivers  in  this  district  and  they 
drain  a  country  rich  in  the  productive  red  soil  typical  of 
nearly  all  Australia. 

The  northwest  has  a  regular  rainy  season  and  regular 
rainfall,  and  already  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  the  land 
will  raise  almost  anything  that  is  planted,  and  that  sheep  and 


1/2 


AUSTRALIA 


The  Government  House  and  gardens  at  Perth. 


long-horned  cattle,  the  latter  now  being-  the  principal  export, 
do  well  there. 

To  my  mind  there  is  no  more  romantic  spot  in  Australia 
than  Ninety  Mile  Beach,  on  the  northwest  coast,  where  the 
great  part  of  the  world's  supply  of  i)earl  shell  is  gathered. 
Broome  is  the  port.  Its  small  p()])ulali()n  is  more  suggestive 
of  Asia  than  of  a  European  nation.  It  is  in  reality  a  double 
town.  One  section  is  white  and  has  at  best  fewer  than  a  hun- 
dred people,  the  other  section  is  a  bit  of  transplanted  japan. 
There  I  found  everything  tyi)ically  Japanese;  they  even  send 
to  their  native  land  for  the  clothing  which  they  weac^ 

The  white  men   who  live  tlu-re  usually  act  as  checkers  on 


WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 


173 


Down  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Western  Australia,  on  the  Great 
Australian  I!>ight,  is  located  a  city  of  about  15.000  population  called 
Albany.  It  is  the  summer  resort  of  the  goldfields  and  the  center  of  an 
agricultural  district  which  is  steadily  growing  in  importance.  The 
coastal  lands  near  Albany  have  an  annual  rainfall  of  from  30  to  50  inches. 
It  boasts  a  splendid  harbor,  the  beauties  of  which  offset  the  dullness  of 
the  town. 


the  divers.  They  do  not  make  good  divers  themselves,  for  they 
get  aches  and  pains  from  working  under  the  water,  especially 
at  the  depth  where  the  best  shell  is  found.  That  is  why  most 
of  the  divers  are  Filipinos,  Malays  and  Japanese.  In  the  past 
these  divers  were  recruited  under  a  three-year  contract  around 
Singapore.  They  were  paid  seven  dollars  a  month,  with  a 
bonus  on  every  ton  of  shell  they  brought  up.  A  good  diver 
could  make  from  seven  hundred  and  fifty  to  a  thousand  dollars 
a  year  at  that  rate,  working  in  water  under  twenty-three 
fathoms  in  depth.  Thirty-five  years  ago,  when  naked  blacks 
were  the  only  divers  there,  they  used  to  work  in  deeper  water, 
but  the  death  rate  among  those  who  went  down  was  so  high 
that  today  the  divers  stick  closer  in  shore,  altho  much  shell  is 
to  be  found  farther  out.  New  methods  will  have  to  be  adopted, 
however,  before  the  greater  depths  can  be  profitably  worked. 
At  that,  the  pearl  industry  is  worth  close  to  two  million 
dollars  a  year  to  the  Commonwealth.  Arotmd  Broome  it  is 
customary  to  let   tlie  ofif-color   races  have  pretty   free   sway ; 


174 


AUSTRALIA 


Most  of  our  pearls  come  from  Ninety  ivTile  Beach,  on  the  northwest 
coast  of  Australia.  Pearl  shell  is  gathered  by  divers  operating  from 
small  crafts  known  as  luggers.  These  boats  are  of  about  fifteen  tons 
burden  and  are  manned  by  seven  men,  one  of  whom  is  a  white  man,  who 
opens  the  shells  and  searches  for  the  pearls.  The  latest  figures  show  no 
fewer  than  240  lujggers  engaged  in  this  industry  off  northwest  Australia, 
and  about  3,000  divers,  most  Asiatics.  The  photograph  shows  one  of  the 
lugger  fleets. 


that  is  why,  I  imagine,  there  are  so  often  race  riots  in  this 
territory. 

The  pearling  industry  has  one  natural  enemy — the  "willy- 
willies"  or  tropical  hurricanes,  which  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year  wreak  great  havoc  among  the  fishing  fleets.  In  one 
memorable  storm  a  few  years  ago  thirty  luggers  went  down 
with  all  hands. 

East  of  Western  Australia  and  between  it  and  the  state  of 
Queensland  lies  the  Northern  Territory,  once  a  part  of  New 


NORTHERN  TERRITORY 


175 


South  Wales,  later  annexed  to  the  state  of  South  Australia. 
It  is  a  vast  tract,  523,620  square  miles,  yet  with  a  white  popula- 
tion of  only  2.500.  It  lies  between  1 1  and  26  degrees  south  of 
the  equator,  and  not  much  more  of  it  is  known  today  than  in 
1870,  when  South  Australia  built  a  telegraph  line  thru  it  from 
Adelaide  to  Port  Darwin,  the  capital  of  the  territory  and  the 
only  town  of  any  size.  In  fact,  the  telegraph  is  the  chief 
reason  for  the  existence  of  Port  Darwin. 

As  far  back  as  1825  the  British  government  established  a 
military  post  on  Melville  Island,  fifteen  miles  north  of  where 
Darwin  now  stands,  but  the  blackfellows  proved  so  trouble- 
some that  the  post  was  moved  to  the  mainland.  At  that  time, 
and  until  1863,  New  South  Wales  held  title  to  the  territory. 
After  that  South  Australia  governed  it,  until  1900,  when  the 


taMWM!8a«iR»ar  'nmmm^'i^^m 


•^r^^ 


Unloading  pearl  shell  on  the  beach  at  Broome. 


176 


AUSTRALIA 


Commonwealth  was  formed,  South  Austraha  gave  up  posses- 
sion on  condition  that  the  federal  government  take  over  the 
debt  it  had  incurred  on  behalf  of  the  territory.  It  also  gave 
up  the  territory's  one  north  and  south  railroad  on  condition 
that  the  line  be  extended  to  Port  Darwin.  This  has  never  been 
done,  but  talk  of  building  it  is  being  revived  now. 

In  the  days  when  each  state  made  its  own  laws  and  had  no 
ties  with  other  colonies,  South  Australia  passed  a  law  permit- 
ting the  importation  of  black  and  yellow  labor  into  the  terri- 
tory because  it  was  found  impossible  to  get  white  men  in  any 
numbers  to  work  in  the  tropics.  Several  hundred  Chinese 
thus  came  in,  as  well  as  many  other  colored  laborers,  but  the 
"White  Australia"  policy  has  stopped  that,  and  little  further 


An  orange  c;rovc  near  York. 


NORTHERN  TERRITORY  177 

development  of  the  Northern  Territory's  resources  has  been 
made.  It  remains  a  vast,  unknown,  uncharted  region  with 
great  tracts  of  virgin  land  never  explored.  Within  its  three 
straight  sides — 1,970  miles  long — are  forests,  hills  and  plains 
which  are  eminently  suited  to  pastoral  purposes.  So  far,  that 
is  the  only  real  industry  that  has  been  developed,  but  the 
freezing  works  at  Port  Darwin  are  no  doubt  the  forerunners 
of  many  more  to  come. 

One  straggling  railroad  line  it  had,  I  found,  running  145 
miles  between  Port  Darwin  and  Pine  Creek,  where  once  it 
was  believed  that  there  was  great  mineral  wealth  to  be  found. 
A  little  locomotive  with  two  cars  wheezes  over  the  rusty  rails 
twice  a  week. 

Port  Darwin  itself  is  a  typically  sleepy,  tropic  town.  In 
the  Asiatic  quarter  there  are  600  people,  with  about  an  equal 
number  in  the  European  section,  a  hundred  of  whom  are 
women.  For  1,500  miles  on  either  side  of  Port  Darwin  there  is 
not  so  much  as  a  village.  Its  only  callers  by  sea  are  a  few 
trading  vessels  and  pearling  luggers  from  Torres  Straits. 

It  is  likely  that  for  many  years  to  come  the  Northern  Terri- 
tory will  remain  a  pastoral  country,  with  great  possibilities 
which  cannot  be  realized  until  other  states  have  had  their 
chance  at  the  settler  first.  The  land  is  suitable  for  anything 
that  the  land  of  the  tropical  part  of  Queensland,  its  neighbor 
on  the  east,  is  good  for :  all  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the 
tropics,  rice  and  sugar  cane,  rubber,  cotton  and  tobacco. 


Lumbering  is  an  important  industry  in  every  Australian  state  and 
these  are  typical  scenes  in  the  lumberini?  districts.  Above,  oxen  are  being 
used  to  skid  the  hurre  logs  out  of  the  woods.  Below,  is  shown  a  sawmill 
camp  in  the  big  timber. 


CHAPTER  X 


NEW    SOUTH    WALES 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES  is  the  mother  state  of  Australia. 
It  has  a  population  of  2,000,000,  forty  per  cent  of  the 

entire  population  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  an  area  of  310,- 

372  square  miles — larger  than  our  own  State  of  Texas  by  one- 
sixth  with  a  population 
only  one-half  as  great  as 
the  Lone  Star  State.  It  is 
about  one-tenth  of  the 
whole  area  of  Australia, 
but  it  is  not  as  thickly  set- 
tled as  the  state  of  Victoria. 
There  are  only  98  men  to 
each  100  women,  and  at 
least  sixty  per  cent  of  the 
people  live  in  the  cities. 

The  cutting  loose  of  the 
American  colonies  from 
Great  Britain  played  a  big 
part  in  the  history  of  New 
South  Wales,  for  England's 
jails  were  overflowing  with 
criminal  or  political  prison- 
ers who  otherwise  would 
have  been  transported  to 
America.  So  in  1788  a  fleet 
of  vessels  landed  1,035  con- 
victs at  what  is  now  the  city 
of  Sydney,  and  there  they 

formed  the  nucleus  of  the  first  penal  colony  in  Australia. 

In   traveling  thru   the   state   I   found  that   the  country   is 

divided  into  three  sections.    The  Eastern  division  lies  between 


Martin  Place,  Sydney,  might  well  be  called 
the  Wall  Street  of  the  city,  as  it  is  lined  with 
banks.  The  fifteen  banks  chartered  by  the  state 
are  capitalized  for  a  hundred  million  dollars. 
The  state  government  has  a  savings  bank  with 
136  branches  and  500  agencies,  and  it  has 
deposits  averaging  $120  for  each  person  in  the 
state.  In  the  picture  the  clock  tower  marks 
the  main  postoffice  building. 


179 


i8o  AUSTRALIA 

its  rather  forbidding  rocky  coast  and  the  mountains.  The 
Central  division  takes  in  the  plateaus  of  the  mountains.  The 
third,  the  W^estern  division,  embraces  the  plains  country,  which 
has  an  average  rainfall  of  less  than  ten  inches  a  year.  In  this 
section  lies  the  Darling  River,  which  joins  the  Murray  on 
the  Mctorian  state  boundary  and  is  a  part  of  the  continent's 
only  important  river  system.  Between  them  the  two  rivers 
drain  five-sixths  of  New  South  Wales  and  almost  one-seventh 
of  Australia,  yet  the  Darling,  running  directly  across  the  state 
from  north  to  south,  dwindles  in  dry  seasons  to  a  mere 
rivulet,  and  once  was  practically  dried  up  for  a  period  of 
eleven  months. 

Its  peculiar  land  formations  give  New  South  \\'ales  a 
diversified  climate  and  even  more  diversified  products.  The 
rainfall  ranges  from  over  seventy  inches  a  year  in  some  locali- 
ties to  less  than  ten  inches  in  others.  In  the  northern  and 
western  parts  extreme  heat  is  not  unusual  during  the  Aus- 
tralian summer,  while  in  the  southern  part  there  is  a  chain 
of  mountains  where  during  their  winter — June,  July  and  x*\u- 
gust — the  people  are  sometimes  snowbound. 

From  a  dry  scientific  report  I  culled  the  rather  startling 
information  that  Mt.  Kosciusko,  7.328  feet  above  sea  level, 
the  highest  point  in  Australia  and  the  place  from  which  spring 
the  headwaters  of  the  Murray,  is  the  oldest  mountain  in  the 
world ;  that  long  before  other  mountains  had  been  formed 
by  upheavals  of  the  earth,  Kosciusko  reared  its  lonely  head 
to  a  height  twice  that  of  today.  It  is  hard  to  surpass  Mt. 
Kosciusko  for  grandeur  and  beauty,  and  the  government  of 
New  South  Wales  has  set  it  aside  as  a  playground,  where  may 
be  enjoyed  such  winter  sports  as  skating  and  skiing,  denied  to 
most  Australians. 

New  South  Wales  produces  all  the  fruits  of  cold,  temper- 
ate and  tropical  lands.  Its  soil  raises  wheat,  barley,  corn, 
oats,  potatoes,  sugarcane  and  vegetables  in  abundance.  Its 
mountain  tablelands  and  slopes  are  covered  with  ricli  pastures 
upon  which  dairying,  and  sheep-raising  for  both  meat  and  wool 
are  pn^fitablc  ventures.     Its  forests  yield  valuable  hardwoods. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


i«i 


This  picture  was  taken  near  the  source  of  the  Murray  River  between 
New  South  Wales  and  Victoria.  The  snow-capped  mountain  in  the 
distance  is  Mt.  Kosciusko,  the  highest  mountain  in  Australia. 

My  investigations  show  that  50,000,000  out  of  the  200,- 
000,000  acres  in  the  state  would  be  productive  under  cultiva- 
tion, the  balance  for  grazing.  At  present  about  one-tenth  of 
this  available  land  is  being  cropped,  two-thirds  to  three-fourths 
of  the  acreage  in  crops  being  devoted  to  wheat.  This  state, 
I  found,  was  the  first  to  adopt  the  American  method  of 
handling  wheat  in  bulk,  and  all  along  the  railroad  lines  elevators 
are  being  built. 

But  its  pastoral  industries  are  the  real  source  of  the  wealth 
of  New  South  Wales,  and  sheep  are  the  backbone  of  the 
industry.  In  fact,  this  state  is  the  wool-growing  center 
of  the  world  and  the  leader  in  the  production  of  merino  wool. 
The  annual  clip  represents  some  300,000,000  pounds,  ninety 
per  cent  of  it  being  merino  wool. 

We  left  Sydney  by  train  one  evening  and  by  breakfast 
the   next  mornins:  we   had   crossed   the  mountain   range  and 


The  type  of  modern  wheat  elevator  now  being  built  in  New  South  Wales. 


The  older  melliod  of  hturing  wheat,  and  the  one  nioht  freciuently 
used,  is  shown  in  this  picture.  This  dock  is  piled  high  with  sacked 
wheat,  awaiting  shipment. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


1 8-. 


were  in  the  sheep  country.  We  were  then  only  400  feet  ahove 
sea  level.  Acres  upon  acres  of  porous  red  soil,  of  sandy  plains, 
stunted  trees  and  a  bewildering  assortment  of  herbage  varying 
from  six  inches  to  head-high — these  are  what  one  encounters  in 
the  bush  country  of  Australia.  I  covered  mile  after  mile 
without  a  sight  of  water  except  where  here  and  there  the 
rainfall  had  been  drained  into  ponds,  called  tanks,  scooped  out 
of  the  low  places.  This  is  the  general  condition  in  the  greatest 
sheep-raising  country  in  the  world. 

My  impression  of  the  country  was  that  it  was  dry  and 
desolate.  But  on  a  visit  to  Milroy  Station,  a  ranch  of  300,000 
acres  five  hundred  miles  from  the  coast  of  New  South  Wales 
and  eighty  miles  south  of  the  border  of  the  state  of  Queens- 
land, I  learned  that  with  only  an  average  rainfall  of  eleven 


Mr.  Boyce,  snapped  on  an  inspection  trip  on  one  of  the  sheep  sta- 
tions in  New  South  Wales.  Mr.  Boyce  and  his  party  covered  more  than 
sixty  miles  in  the  station  conveyance,  which  most  of  the  time  was  drawn 
by  four  horses,  as  the  way  lay  thru  deep  sand,  heavy  herbage  or  over 
land  that  was  being  cleared. 


1 84 


AUSTRALIA 


inches  a  year  this  land  is 
ideal  for  sheep.  There  is 
food  value  in  almost  all  the 
herbs  and  trees.  Nature 
kindly  provides  needed 
moisture  for  the  sheep  in 
many  nutritious  weeds 
which  they  eat.  Only  in 
those  years  when  no  rain 
falls  at  all  does  the  sheep- 
man worry  and  ship  his 
flocks  away  to  places 
where  there  is  food  and 
water.  At  other  times  he 
lias  few  cares,  for  his  stock 
will  wax  fat  and  grow  a 
heavy  fleece  and  multiply 
with  little  effort  on  his  part. 
Salt  bush  is  one  of  the 
mainstays  of  the  sheepmen. 
This  grows  in  profusion  in 
all  soils.  It  is  a  bush  weed 
whose  branches  are  thick 
with  heavy  dark  green 
leaves  one  to  two  inches 
long  and  three-quarters  of 
an  inch  wide.  It  will  aver- 
age one  to  three  feet  in  height,  one  variety,  called  "old  man 
salt  bush,"  growing  as  high  as  a  man's  head.  The  taste 
is  not  unpleasant,  being  but  sligiitly  salty.  Given  a  field  in 
the  winter  of  salt  bush  in  which  i)ig  weed  grows,  sheep  re(|uire 
no  other  food  nor  water.  l'i)()n  being  crushed  between  tlie 
fingers  the  leaf  of  the  ]jig  weed  becomes  a  moist  pulp  which 
contains  both  food  and  drink.  This  plant  grows  to  the  height 
of  two  feet,  being  very  bushy.     The  natives  sometimes,  when 


Tlie  salt  bush  grows  profusely  in  the  dry  belt 
of  New  South  Wales  and  is  one  of  the  staple 
herbs  upon  which  the  merino  sheep  feed.  It 
varies  in  height  from  a  few  inches  to  the  height 
of  a  man.  It  is  both  food  and  water  for  the 
sheep  and  contains  just  enough  salt  to  keep 
them  in  condition. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


This  champion  Jersey  bull,  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Show  in  Sydney  and  winning  over  all  competitors,  suggests  the  kind  of 
cattle  raised  in  New  South  Wales. 

food  is  scarce,  cook  it  as  we  prepare  spinach,  and  it  is  life- 
sustaining.  Tar  vine,  another  herb,  trails  on  the  ground  and 
is  plentiful  and  nutritious. 

Timothy,  a  species  of  native  clover,  and  a  hardy,  low- 
growing  weed  called  "never  fail,"  which  thrives  in  even  the 


»**—AK. 


"n 


Judging  Friesian  cattle  in  the  Roj-al  Agricultural  Show  in  Sydney. 


i86 


AUSTRALIA 


driest  times,  are  other  foods,  but  the  herbage  is  preferred  by 
the  sheep. 

The  sheepman  who  looks  ahead  runs  a  mower  over  the 
fields  which  are  not  needed  for  grazing  purposes,  cuts  all  the 
herbage  and  rakes  it  up  for  ensilage.  The  manner  of  preserv- 
ing it  is  peculiarly  Australian.  It  is  packed  away  in  pits  dug 
out  of  the  earth.  Salt  is  mixed  in — about  forty  pounds  of 
coarse  salt  rock  to  a  ton  of  ensilage — to  keep  it  from  ferment- 
ing. The  whole  mass  is  covered  with  dirt  to  make  it  air-tight, 
and  it  will  keep  for  years. 

At  Milroy  Station  I  was  shown  a  mound  of  earth  33  yards 
long,   18  feet  wide  and   12  feet  deep  which  contained  ninety 


Hereford  cattle  arc  pojjular  in  New  Soiitli  Wales.  This  juize 
Hereford  hull  from  the  Royal  Af^ricultural  Show  in  Sydney  would  at- 
tract attention  in  any  similar  exposition  the  world  over. 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES  187 

tons  of  ensilage.    This  would  feed  10,000  sheep  for  six  weeks. 

Many  times,  when  food  is  short,  stunted  trees  are  used  for 
food  for  the  "woolies."  Among  them  are  lignum  bush,  the 
supplejack,  the  whitewood,  the  wilga,  the  rosewood  and  dog- 
wood. The  sheep  eagerly  eat  the  leaves  which  are  blown 
down  by  the  wind,  but  quite  often,  particularly  in  years  of 
drought,  the  sheepman  prunes  the  trees  and  turns  the  sheep 
in  on  the  branches.  So  long  as  one  live  branch  is  left  the 
tree  will  not  die  and  its  branches  will  be  replaced  inside  a 
twelvemonth. 

As  a  last  extremity  the  sheep  will  eat  thistles,  but  only  after 
they  have  devoured  every  other  plant.  It  requires  about  six 
acres  of  average  brush  land  to  feed  a  sheep,  but  I  was  told  at 
Milroy  that  in  years  of  average  rainfall  80,000  sheep  have  fed 
well  on  the  ratio  of  four  acres  to  a  sheep. 

Water  is  of  course  the  problem  for  which  provision  must 
be  made.  This  is  done  by  picking  a  low  place  between  ridges, 
banking  up  its  sides  and  digging  out  the  middle  and  diverting 
to  it,  by  means  of  shallow  ditches,  all  the  water  which  would 
not  naturally  drain  itself  into  the  ponds,  or  "tanks,"  as  the  Aus- 
tralians call  them. 

Flies,  crows,  hawks  and  foxes — and  of  course  the  rabbit, 
which  destroys  the  vegetation — are  the  enemies  of  the  sheep- 
man. The  flies  he  combats  by  dipping  his  sheep,  the  meat- 
eating  enemies  by  placing  poisoned  bait  for  them.  The  rabbits 
are  destroyed  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  newcomer  to  Australia  probably  will  be  puzzled  by 
references  to  cattle  or  sheep  "stations."  The  American  would 
say  "ranch."  Few  owners  live  on  their  stations,  for  most  of 
them  are  owned  by  syndicates  with  numerous  stockholders. 
Usually  there  is  a  manager,  who  has  learned  the  business, 
starting  as  a  "jackaroo"  or  ranch  hand.  The  station  houses 
which  I  saw  were  large,  roomy  affairs  built  of  wood  with  cor- 
rugated iron  roofs,  wide,  shady  verandas,  set  among  trees  and 
flowers.    I  found  Alilroy  very  comfortable  during  my  stay. 

The  barracks,  or  men's  sleeping  quarters,  all  appear  to  be 
built  on  the  same  plan.    There  is  a  porch  along  the  entire  front 


AUSTRALIA 


High  rent  doesn't  bother  the  average  miner  in  New  South  Wales, 
for  he  appears  satisfied  with  any  old  house  for  his  family.  This  shanty 
of  bark  walls  and  roof  was  photographed  in  the  southwestern  part  of 
the  state,  where  the  rainfall  is  light  and  the  weather  in  winter  does  not 
get  so  cold  that  real  protection  from  the  elements  is  needed. 

and  opening  off  that  are  well  furnished  bedrooms  for  the 
hands.  I>athrooms  with  both  shower  and  tubs  are  the  common 
thing.  All  the  buildings  are  whitewashed.  During  hot  weather 
sleeping  porches,  or  pavilions,  tightly  screened  against  mosqui- 
toes, are  used.  Most  of  the  sheep  country  is  still  held  in  large 
tracts,  far  from  towns  and  railroads,  but  at  Milroy.  which  is 
ty])ical,  I  found  not  only  comforts,  but  luxury.  There  were 
telephones,  gas  lights  from  a  carbide  plant,  shower  baths,  and 


NEIV  SOUTH  WALES 


189 


even  a  splendid  tennis  court.  It  is  located  forty  miles  from  a 
railroad,  but  a  motorcar  does  it  in  two  hours,  except  in  rainy 
weather,  when  it  can't  be  done  at  all.  You  hear  a  great  deal 
in  the  cities  about  the  loneliness  of  life  in  the  bush,  but  I  have 
yet  to  find  a  bush-dweller  who  will  admit  it. 

The  owner  of  the  Milroy  Station  lived  in  Sydney.  The  local 
manager  had  been  advised  that  an  American  newspaper  man, 
with  his  son  and  secretary,  would  arrive  on  a  certain  date  and 
to  take  care  of  them  and  see  to  their  comfort.  The  manager 
evidently  over-estimated  the  importance  of  the  visitors  and 
was  worried  about  our  visit.  He  had  a  five-year-old  son  who 
told  us  that  they  had  hoped  it  would  rain  (the  roads  are  im- 
passable when  it  rains)  so  we  could  not  get  there.  No  evi- 
dence of  this  worry,  however,  showed  itself  in  the  hospitable 
treatment  we  received. 

The  production  of  the  mines  of  New  South  Wales  has 
for  seven  years  averaged  $50,000,000  annually.  Other  than 
coal,  the  chief  mines  are  the  silver-lead  mines  in  the  Barrier 
mountain  ranges,  most  of  which  are  owned  by  the  Broken  Hill 


The  settlers  on  the  frontiers  of  civilization  in  New  South  Wales 
have  a  fairly  substantial  type  of  house,  as  this  picture  shows.  The 
corrugated   iron   water  tank  always  is  conspicuous. 


I90  AUSTRALIA 

Alining  Company.  Alillions  in  silver  ore  have  been  taken  out 
of  the  workings,  which  are  world  famous,  in  part  because  of  the 
romance  of  its  finding. 

On  the  top  of  the  broken  ridge  or  crest  from  which  the 
mines  are  named  and  which  long  since  have  disappeared,  huge 
bowlders  of  manganic  iron  challenged  the  passerby  with  their 
shining  surfaces,  polished  bright  by  the  feet  of  thousands  of 
kangaroos  which  made  the  range  their  home.  For  years  a 
shepherd  camped  nightly  over  a  bed  of  silver  worth  a  king's 
ransom.  Accidentally  he  found  samples  of  lead  ore  which  in 
the  hands  of  an  assayer  revealed  traces  of  silver. 

But  the  range  lay  200  miles  from  a  railroad  and  150  miles 
from  a  road  of  any  kind,  and  there  was  no  water  supply. 
The  men  who  staked  it  out,  poor  men  unable  to  work  it  them- 
selves, were  turned  down  in  their  efforts  to  dispose  of  their 
holdings  for  $1,500.  Somehow  they  sttick  it  out,  put  down  a 
couple  of  shafts  and  ran  crosscuts  without  making  a  find  that 
attracted  any  attention.  But  they  were  hopeful  and  managed 
to  sell  a  few  shares  of  stock,  and  so  continued  the  development 
until  one  day  they  ran  across  the  real  lode,  fabulously  rich. 
Within  a  few  months  a  sixteenth  share,  that  could  have  been 
bought  for  $3,000,  was  quoted  at  $7,000,000. 

Before  the  war  the  Broken  Hill  mines  produced  a  quarter 
of  the  world's  lead  and  a  sixteenth  of  the  world's  silver  in  one 
year.  Broken  Hill  has  done  more,  however.  It  has  developed 
new  processes  and  treatments  for  ores  and  has  been  the  training 
ground  for  world-famous  mining  engineers  and  metallurgists. 
We  Americans  may  take  a  small  share  of  the  Australian  pride 
in  the  Broken  11  ill  mines,  because  it  was  American  mining 
experts  who  first  developed  them  after  the  lode  was  found. 

I  felt  quite  at  home  in  Sydney,  the  capital  and  the  largest 
city  as  well  as  the  most  important  in  the  Commonwealth.  It  is 
the  most  nearly  y\merican  city  1  was  in.  It  is  about  the  size  of 
Boston  or  St.  Louis,  with  a  ])oi)ulation  of  800.000.  Our  first 
glimi)se  of  the  city  was  from  tlie  deck  of  a  steamer  as  it  ])asscd 
thru  the  heads  which  guard  the  entrance  to  Port  Jackson,  and 
I  ( an  well  in^agine  the  satisfaction  of  Captain  Cook,  when,  in 


Nllir  SOUTH  WALES 


191 


1770,  the  magnificence  and  beauty  of  the  harbor  burst  upon 
him.  Alan  has  modernized  both  sides  of  this  wonderful  port 
and  its  scores  of  bays,  coves  and  inlets,  but  he  has  not  spoiled 
its  attractiveness. 

Numerous  islets,  marked  by  lighthouses  or  signal  stations, 
dot  the  waters  outside  the  channel  from  the  heads  to  the 
wharfs,  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  miles.  One  of  these,  Fort 
Denison,  is  the  site  of  an  obsolete  fort  which  was  built  in  a 
panic  in  1839  when  the  authorities  of  the  then  convict  colony 
awoke  one  morning  to  find  that  two  American  men-of-war  had 
successfully  passed  the  heads  of  the  port  in  the  night  and 
were  placidly  anchored  in  the  stream.  The  islet  was  cut  down 
to  a  fiat  about  twenty  feet  above  water  and  guns  were  mounted 
to  command  the  channel.  A  caretaker  still  maintains  lonely 
vigil  over  the  ancient  cannon  and  the  ruins  of  four  solitary 
stone  cells  which  were  used  in  early  days  for  stubborn  pris- 
oners. 

As  we  came  up  the  harbor  we  found  everywhere  movement 
and  life.  Up-to-date  ferry  boats  were  scurrying  back  and 
forth  between  the  city  and  its  beautiful  suburbs.     Sailing  ships 


The  entrance  to  Sydney  harbor. 


192  AUSTRALIA 


This  is  the  picturesque   old    fort  and   prison   which  stands   in   Sydney 
harbor,  a  reminder  of  the  early  days  of  the  city. 

and  steamers  of  all  sizes  and  descriptions  and  from  many 
ports  were  anchored  in  the  stream  or  tied  up  at  the  wharj's. 
Sydney  is  a  port  of  call  for  over  7,500  vessels  of  all  descrip- 
tions each  year,  making  it  one  of  the  chief  ports  of  the  world. 

A  skyline  of  btiildings,  eight,  nine  or  ten  stories  high,  rising 
from  the  grounds  surrounding  the  bay,  greets  the  eye.  Later, 
from  a  hotel  room  high  above  the  street,  I  was  to  discover  that 
Sydney  is  a  city  of  corrugated  iron  roofs,  the  monotony  being 
broken  by  more  modern  roofs  of  slate  or  tile  on  the  recently 
put  up  structures. 

Circular  Quay,  at  which  the  ferries  converge,  is  the  prin- 
cipal artery  of  the  city's  life.  It  is  there  that  the  thousands 
who  work  in  tlie  city,  but  li\e  in  tlie  sul)urbs,  come  and  go; 
to  it  lead  the  main  streets  of  the  downtown  btisiness  section. 

1  know  some  American  city  planners  who  would  throw  up 
their  hands  in  despair  over  Sydney.  No  engineer  willi  transit 
and  level  laid  out  her  streets,  and  no  far-seeing  authorities 
mapped  lier  site  with  any  regard  for  posterity.  The  trails 
fjf  the  Inillock  teams  of  convict  days  gradually  became  roads 
and  these  roads  became  streets,  so  narrow  that  today  they 
permit  only  one-way  traffic  in  the  downtown  sections. 

Close  to  Circular  Quay  is  the  stately  go\crnmenl  house  in 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


193 


which  resides  the  governor  appointed  by  the  British  crown. 
The  entrance  to  the  palace  is  on  IMacquarie  Street,  named  in 
honor  of  the  wise  and  benevolent  old  governor  of  convict  days 
who  used  the  labor  of  his  prisoners  to  construct  the  parliament 
and  other  buildings  along  the  street ;  they  are  still  in  use.  The 
street  is  wide  and  abuts  on  parks  and  parkways ;  it  is  one  of 
the  few  wide  thorofares  made  so  without  the  expenditure  of 
large  sums  in  buying  up  adjoining  property  and  razing  build- 
ings. 

King  Street  and  Pitt  also  start  at  Circular  Quay  and  extend 
across  the  entire  downtown  business  section.  They  are  lined 
with  office  buildings  and  stores  that  compare  favorably  with 
our  large  city  shops. 

I  was  studying  a  map  of  Sydney  streets  in  order  to  find 
a  small  cross  street  where  a  friend  had  an  office,  and  the  dia- 
gram reminded  me  of  nothing  so  much  as  one  of  those  mystic 
maze  puzzles  which  are  published  occasionally  with  prizes  for 
those  who  can  start  from  a  given  point  and  trace  their  way 
to  another  point.     In  Sydney  the  short  streets  come  into  the 


The  Circular  Quay  at  Sydney. 


194 


AUSTRALIA 


long  ones  at  all  sorts  of  angles  and  change  names   without 
warning  at  the  slightest  of  turns. 

The  history  of  public  transportation  service  in  Sydney 
struck  me  as  highly  amusing.  The  first  street  cars  were  horse- 
drawn  affairs,  instituted  in  1862.  Four  years  later  the  rails 
were  pulled  up  because  it  was  an  infringement  on  the  rights 
of  the  people  to  have  to  turn  out  of  the  road  for  a  street  car. 
In  1879  an  exhibition  was  being  held  and  the  promoters,  by  a 
ruse,  laid  a  line  to  the  fair  grounds.  They  announced  that 
the  tracks  were  to  be  temporary,  that  the  cars  were  merely  to 
help  those  who  did  not  own  horses  to  get  to  the  fair.     Old 

files  of  the  newspapers  I 
dug  up  reveal  efforts  to  get 
the  rails  torn  up  again  that 
were  worthy  of  a  better 
object,  but  the  tracks 
stayed  and  became  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  elec- 
tric system  of  115  miles, 
over  w'hich  950,000  passen- 
gers are  carried  daily. 
Electricity  did  not  come, 
however,  until  after  cars 
inilled  by  tiny  steam  en- 
gines had  been  replaced  by 
cable  cars. 

In  Taronga  Park,  across  the  bay  from  Sydney,  is  one  of 
the  best  "zoos"  in  the  world.  It  is  modeled  after  the  famous  zoo 
of  Hagenbeck  in  Berlin,  Germany,  for  as  far  as  possible  cages 
and  bars  have  been  done  away  with  and  the  sixty  acres  of 
land  ujion  which  the  zoo  is  built  has  been  dixidcd  into  s])accs 
in  whicli  the  wild  animals  are  kc])t  under  conditions  as  near 
as  i)ossiblc  like  their  native  haunts. 

liotanical  r,ar(k'ns  is  another  beauty  sjjot  (^f  the  city.  Orig- 
in.'dly  it  was  the  site  upon  which  the  convicts  of  other  days 
rai.^ed  the  vegetables  to  feed  themselves.     iM-en  then  the  au- 


Macquarie  Street,   Sydney. 


NEJV  SOUTH  WALES 


T95 


thorities  realized  that  the  people  of  the  future  would  need 
breathing  spaces  and  so  set  aside  the  garden  for  park  purposes. 
The  people  of  Sydney  probably  make  up  the  most  cosmo- 
politan population  in  Australia.  Races  which  now  arc  pre- 
vented from  coming  into  the  country  as  a  result  of  the  "White 
Australia"  policy,  rub  elbows  on  the  street  with  people  from 
all  the  white  countries  of  the  globe.  Sydney  has  its  Chinatown, 
too,  where  these  unwanted  people  of  the  yellow  race  live  by 
themselves.  You 
see  a  n  occasional 
Chinaman  uptown 
or  driving  his  vege- 
table wagon  down 
the  street,  but  he 
passes  on  about 
his  business  quiet- 
ly and  quickly. 
Black  faces  are  a 
rarity.  A  few  of 
the  blackfellows. 
an  occasional  Brit- 
ish subject  from 
one  of  the  island 
possessions,  m  a  y 
pass  you  on  the 
street,  but  mostly 
you  see  white  peo- 
ple. 

Sydney  is  racing 
mad.  Every  day 
there  is  horse  rac- 
ing somewhere 
near  the  city  at  one 
of  the  numerous 
tracks.  The  ponies 
are  always  a  subject  of  conversation.  Certainly  no  country 
in  the  world  caters  more  to  its  racing  public  than  Australia. 


Victoria  Market,  an  imposing  structure  in  George 
Street,  the  principal  tliorofare  of  Sydney,  was  intended 
to  be  a  central  market,  but  proved  a  white  elephant. 
At  enormous  cost  it  has  been  converted  into  an  office 
building  with  shops  on  the  ground  floor.  In  this  way 
the  state  hopes  to  get  back  some  of  the  money  invested 
in  the  building. 


196  AUSTRALIA 

At  Randwick  race  course  crowds  of  100,000  are  often  handled 
on  days  when  noted  races  are  run. 

Near  Randwick  are  the  great  municipal  playing  fields, 
where  in  season  cricket  and  football  attract  enormous  crowds. 
Tennis,  too,  is  a  popular  sport,  as  was  shown  by  the  attendance 
at  the  matches  in  which  the  American  tennis  stars  participated 
this  year.  To  know  how  to  swim  is  almost  a  fetish  with  the 
Australians,  and  nowhere  in  the  Commonwealth  are  there  more 
devotees  than  in  Sydney,  where  swimming,  riding  the  breakers 
and  diving  are  possible  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

Boxing  is  another  sport  which  has  a  hold  on  Sydneyites. 
In  years  gone  by  Australia  produced  some  of  the  world's 
greatest  fighters,  and  today  the  squared  ring  is  still  popular. 

Sydney  night  life  is  the  most  colorful,  the  most  vivid,  of 
all  the  Commonwealth.  Its  streets  are  thronged  till  midnight, 
and  not  even  the  turning  out  of  the  shop  window  lights  at  ten 
o'clock  serves  to  send  the  crowds  home.  Theaters,  cafes, 
beaches,  and  amusement  resorts  of  every  description  lure 
the  Sydneyite  as  a  candle  does  the  moth.  After  midnight 
the  street  cars  run  hourly  only,  and  the  last  regular  cars 
to  the  suburbs,  the  last  boats  across  the  bay.  carry  thou- 
sands. 

Somewhere  I  heard  some  one  refer  to  Sydney  as  the  "city 
of  sun  and  sin."  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  it  is  fast,  that  its 
downtown  streets  are  the  haunts  of  painted  women,  that 
drinking  to  excess  is  carried  on  there  more  than  in  any  other 
Australian  city,  but  it  is  hard  to  find  any  city  similarly  situated 
and  of  the  same  size  that  is  otherwise. 

I  like  Sydney.  Its  pcojjie  are  genial  and  hospitable.  They 
step  along  with  more  of  a  hustle  than  elsewhere  in  Australasia, 
but  they  are  not  too  busy  to  be  courteous  and  to  make  a 
stranger  feci  that  he  is  welconic  and  that  if  lie  but  meets  them 
half  way  he  will  find  tliem  after  all  \er)'  much  like  himself. 

In  1797  several  I'ritish  con\i(is  who  had  ])ccn  deported  to 
Australia  from  I'Jigland  escaped  from  the  penal  settlement 
near  what  is  now  the  city  of  Sydney  and  fled  north  along  the 
coast.      In   iHU'suil  of  them  went   Lieutenant  John   Shcjrtland 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


197 


and  a  detachment  of  soldiers  in  a  small  boat.  A  hundred  miles 
north  Shortland  believed  that  he  was  ahead  of  the  fugitives 
and  turned  his  boat  toward  the  shore  with  the  intention  of 
landing  and  heading  off  the  convicts.  To  his  surprise  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  solid  cliff  proved  to  be  the  entrance  of  a  beautiful 
harbor,  and,  guiding  his  boat  over  the  bar  at  the  mouth,  he  an- 
chored and  went  ashore.  On  the  beach  he  and  his  men  found 
a  large  number  of  black  nuggets  which  they  recognized  as  coal, 
and  investigation  convinced  Shortland  that  he  had  stumbled 
upon  a  rich  deposit. 

Later  his  superiors  investigated  his  report  concerning  Port 


The  sailing  sliip  lias  iiul  vanished  from  the  sea,  as  this  picture  taken 
at  Newcastle  shows.  These  ships  bring  lumber  from  New  Zealand 
to  Australia  and  carry  back  coal.  Most  of  the  ships  in  this  picture 
are  American  craft. 


198 


AUSTRALIA 


An   interior  view  of  one  of  the  mills  of  the  Broken  Hill    Proprietary 
Company's  steel  works  in  Newcastle. 

Hunter,  as  he  named  his  discovery,  and  found  that  he  had 
surmised  correctly  and  that  there  was  a  rich  coal  field  almost 
at  the  very  surface  of  the  ground.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  Newcastle,  third  largest  port  of  Australia,  and,  in  the 
matter  of  tonnage  cleared,  seventh  among  all  the  ports  of  the 
British  Empire.  During  1920  ships  to  the  number  of  1,625 
visited  Newcastle.  Before  the  European  war  the  average 
was  5.000  ships  a  year.  The  tonnage  cleared  was  a  great 
deal  nKjre  and  reached  a  climax  in  191 3.  Since  that  year  there 
has  been  a  decline,  which  appears  to  have  been  checked. 

There  is  one  thing  which  always  has  held  Newcastle  back — 
the  dci^h  of  its  harljor,  which  is  only  twenty-three  feet  at  its 
entrance.  At  least  thirty  feet  are  rccjuircd  by  the  larger  ocean- 
going vessels  of  today,  and  it  is  planned  to  dredge  to  that 
dei>th  as  soon  as  the  state  go\eriinicnt  will  appropriate  the 
money.  In  spite  of  the  handicap  of  shallow  water  Newcastle 
leads  all  the  pcjrts  of  the  CVjmmoinvcalth  in  the  shipjMng  of  coal, 
anfl   last  year  more   than    four  and   onc-qu;irter  nnllion   t(;ns, 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


199 


valued  at  fifteen  million  dollars,  were  sent  out  by  ships  from 
Port  Hunter;  for  the  state  of  New  South  Wales,  in  which 
Newcastle  is  located,  has  the  most  important  coal  fields  of 
Australia,  and  the  Newcastle,  or  northern  district,  has  been 
worked  the  most.  The  New  South  Wales  coal  district  is  200 
miles  across  at  its  widest  point.  At  three  dififerent  spots  the 
seams  appear  on  the  surface.  Around  Newcastle  the  seam  is 
thirty  feet  thick,  which  is  worked  at  a  depth  of  between  two 
and  three  hundred  feet. 

Its  immense  coal  business  and  the  fact  that  it  is  the  location 
of  Australia's  greatest  steel  works  and  allied  industries,  has 
earned  for  Newcastle  the  nickname  of  "Pittsburgh  of  Aus- 
tralia." But  if  you  should  go  to  Newcastle  with  the  expecta- 
tion of  seeing  a  city  like  Pittsburgh  you  would  be  keenly  disap- 
pointed. For  Newcastle  has  a  population  of  only  16,000,  and 
at  least  one  of  its  suburbs,  Cessnock,  some 
twenty  miles  away,  has  eclipsed  it  in  the 
matter  of  size  with  a  population  of  20,000. 
At  Cessnock  is  one  of  the  big  coal 
mines  of  the  northern  district  of  New  South 


One  of  the  modern  blast  furnaces  in  the  Broken  Hill  Company's  steel 
works  in  Newcastle. 


20O  AUSTRALIA 

Wales.  However,  Newcastle  is  the  center  of  that  district  and 
its  port,  and  with  the  suburbs  caters  to  the  need  of  80.000 
persons. 

Alighting  from  a  train  at  Newcastle,  I  was  surprised  to  find 
so  important  a  place  so  dingy  and  dreary.  Its  railway  station 
is  a  small  two-story  brick  structure,  flanked  by  wooden  sheds. 
The  brick  structure  is  used  for  baggage  and  the  sheds  for 
passengers.  The  street  upon  which  it  faces  is  scarcely  paved 
at  all.  Across  from  the  station  are  a  block  of  low  buildings, 
houses,  shops  of  various  kinds  and  a  hotel  or  two.  Down  the 
center  of  the  street  runs  the  street  railway  operated  by  the 
Xew  South  Wales  government.  This  railway  service  is  a 
tender  spot  in  Newcastle.  Antiquated  steam  engines  from  the 
stacks  of  which  dense  black  clouds  of  smoke  pour,  thump  and 
bump  along,  dragging  behind  them  passenger  coaches  in  which 
the  residents  declare  it  is  a  torture  to  ride.  Altho  the  New- 
castle lines  carry  fifteen  million  passengers  a  year,  no  one 
rides  on  them  who  is  not  compelled  to  do  so.  On  the  other 
hand,  motor  busses  do  a  thriving  business. 

On  the  main  street,  a  block  away,  you  will  begin  to  realize 
that  Newcastle  must  do  a  tremendous  amount  of  business.  You 
find  one  bank  after  another,  and  where  there  are  many  banks 
there  is  much  business.  A  check  of  the  i)rincipal  industries 
located  in  or  near  the  city  reveals  plants  that  manufacture 
axles,  wheels  and  s])rings  for  railways,  galvanized  iron,  nails, 
tinplate,  silica  brick,  glass  bottles,  boilers  and  big  suli)hide 
works.  The  steel  works  are  the  biggest  thing.  As  is  always 
the  case,  coal  brings  industry.  It  was  this  fad  that  brought 
to  Newcastle  the  steel  works  of  the  Broken  Hill  Proprietary 
Company  and  gave  birth  to  one  of  the  Commonwealth's  indus- 
trial romances  of  the  great  war. 

The  Broken  Hill  Company,  it  might  be  mentioned,  operates 
one  of  the  world's  greatest  silver  mines,  located  in  New  .^outh 
Wales,  almost  on  the  liorder  line  of  South  .Australia.  Twenty 
years  ago,  purely  as  the  basis  for  possible  use,  it  oliiaincd 
control  (^f  two  mountains.  Iron  Knob  and  Iron  Monarch,  in 
South  Australia,  whicli  ])rove(l  to  be  cxccedingi)-  rich   in  iron 


NEW  SOUTH  WALES 


201 


The  iron  ore  which  is  making  New  South  Wales  the  steel  state  of 
Australia  is  mined  in  the  state  but  is  sent  by  rail  to  a  port  in  South 
Australia  and  thence  by  ship  around  the  south  coast  and  up  the  east 
coast  to  Newcastle,  where  the  steel  mills  are  located  near  the  coal 
supply.  This  is  cheaper  than  shipping  the  coal  to  where  the  ore  is 
found.    The  picture  shows  ore  being  loaded  by  means  of  a  conveyor  belt. 

ore.  But  it  was  not  until  19 13  that  the  company  decided  to 
take  up  iron  mining  as  a  sideline  to  its  silver  mining. 

Then  it  began  to  look  around  for  a  suitable  location  for  its 
steel  works.  Newcastle  coal  was  the  deciding  factor.  It  was 
splendid  for  making  coke  and  Port  Hunter  offered  a  good 
harbor  into  which  to  bring  the  iron  ore.  As  it  takes  more  coal 
than  it  does  ore  in  the  making  of  steel,  it  was  cheaper  to  haul 
the  ore  to  the  coal  than  to  haul  the  coal  to  the  ore.  The  only 
bad  feature  was  the  absence  of  solid  land  on  which  to  build 
docks.  Twenty  thousand  piles,  driven  eighteen  to  thirty-five 
feet  into  the  mud.  was  the  solution.  Over  the  pilings  was  put 
sand  dredged  from  the  river  bottom  until  what  had  been  a 
low-lying  mangrove  swamp  only  two  feet  above  flood  level 
became  solid  ground  twelve  feet  above  tidewater. 

Since  the  close  of  the  war,  the  plant,  which  employs  6,000 


202 


AUSTRALIA 


men,  has  been  doubled,  with  the  idea  of  making  all  the  steel 
which  Australia  and  New  Zealand  can  use.  If  there  is  any 
left  over  a  bid  for  foreign  trade  will  be  made.  Just  now  the 
lack  of  a  tariff  which  will  prevent  the  United  States  and  Japan 
from  competing  with  Newcastle  steel,  is  the  one  thing  which 
stands  in  the  way. 

With  both  coal  and  steel  available  other  industries  which 


The  railroad.s  Ir-Iwx'lii  Xt  wcihtlc,  Un.-  cual  center  ul  New  South 
Wales,  and  Sydney,  a  liundred  miles  away,  reveal  a  procession  of  coal 
trains  bound  for  the  Sydney  wharfs,  where  the  bis  passenger  and  cargo 
ships  load  for  the  return  trips  to  America  and  Europe.  The  tracks  run 
alongside  the  ships  and  loading  is  done  by  powerful  machinery. 


NE I V  SO UTH  U 'ALES  J03 

use  both  are  locating  at  Newcastle.  So  far  as  I  could  see  there 
was  not  a  foot  of  suitable  land  between  Newcastle  and  Port 
Waratah  which  has  not  already  been  snapped  up  for  future 
industries  dependent  on  steel.  So  Newcastle,  already  the  only 
coal  port  of  any  importance  south  of  the  equator,  may  become 
the  greatest  steel  port  as  well — the  "Pittsburgh  of  Australia." 

You  will  hear  in  Newcastle  mutterings  that  the  city  is  held 
back  by  the  jealousy  of  Sydney.  Sydney,  they  say  in  New- 
castle, by  means  of  its  greater  population,  controls  the  state 
government  and  has  for  years  blocked  any  legislation  that 
would  make  Newcastle  any  greater  as  a  port.  Still  this  opposi- 
tion, fancied  or  real,  has  done  a  great  thing  for  Newcastle.  It 
has  welded  its  business  interests  into  a  Chamber  of  Commerce 
that  is  always  fighting  hard  to  keep  the  city  progressing.  It 
was  largely  thru  this  body  that  the  government  of  the  Com- 
monwealth was  induced  to  locate  on  Walsh  Island,  in  the 
harbor  of  Port  Hunter,  a  plant  which  builds  steel  ships  for 
the  Commonwealth's  own  line  of  government  owned,  but  not 
operated,  steamers.  So  far  the  ships  turned  out  at  the  Walsh 
Island  yard,  which  employs  2,500  men,  have  been  of  5,500  tons, 
altho  improvements  now  under  way  will  permit  of  the  building 
of  ships  of  almost  double  that  tonnage. 

The  Hunter  River,  which  flows  into  the  sea  at  Newcastle, 
runs  thru  a  rich  agricultural  and  dairying  district,  and  both  it 
and  its  navigable  arms,  the  Paterson  and  Williams  Rivers, 
bring  down  to  Newcastle  each  year  great  quantities  of  farm 
and  dairy  produce,  much  of  which  is  shipped  abroad,  altho 
coastal  vessels  carry  some  of  it  to  neighboring  cities.  New- 
castle, too,  is  a  railroad  center,  as  the  lines  center  here  which 
go  to  Brisbane,  along  the  coast  and  across  New  South  Wales 


opals,  sapphires,  rubies,  diamonds,  topazes  and  other  stones  of  less 
value  are  found  in  Australia.  The  upper  picture  shows  men  working 
a  sapphire  shaft.  The  lower  picture  shows  men  wasliinjj;  gravel  for 
sapphire  and  other  precious  stones. 


CHAPTER  XI 


•*<^ 


^ 


■  'V 


4; 


QUEENSLAND 

WHILE  I  was  in  New  Zealand  a  friend  told  me  of  a  won- 
derful trip  he  had  made  by  motor  thru  the  Australian 
bush  country  of  northwestern  New  South  Wales  and  south- 
western Queensland,  and  1  decided  to  take  a  similar  route.    The 

course  was  from  Brewar- 
rina,  the  railhead  in  New 
South  Wales,  to  Cunna- 
mulla,  the  railhead  in  the 
state  of  Queensland,  a  dis- 
tance estimated  to  be  two 
hundred  miles.  We  made 
it  by  motor  car. 

The  country  thru  which 
we  passed  would  be  called 
a  "park"  country  in  west- 
ern United  States.  It  com- 
prises some  open  plains,  a 
good  deal  of  timber,  mostly 
eucalyptus,  and  an  under- 
growth which  the  Aus- 
tralian calls  bush. 

The  standard  rate  for 
motorcar  hire  in  this  coun- 
try is  25  cents  a  mile  each 
way.  As  there  were  three 
of  us  the  rate  was  fair 
enough.  But  because  it 
happened  to  be  during  the 
1 '.aster    holidays    the    price 

was  advanced  fifty  per  cent. 
Altho  Queensland  is  well  supplied  with  small       jj        ^-  ^     ^    j 

rivers  and  creeks,  much  of  its  land  m  the  so-  ^^ 

called  "dry  area"  is  watered  by  artesian  wells.       out    from   England,   but   he 

205 


2o6  AUSTRALIA 

claimed  he  knew  the  road — which  he  did  not,  as  we  soon 
learned.  His  car  was  an  old  second-hand  one,  with  tires  in 
bad  shape  and  no  "spare."  He  took  gas  for  one  way  only. 
With  that  equipment  we  started  out  on  a  200-mile  trip  where 
there  were  but  two  ranch  houses  on  the  whole  route. 

The  driver  was  lost  before  we  were  twenty-five  miles  from 
our  starting  place,  but  I  knew  that  the  general  direction  he 
was  keeping  was  all  right,  because  we  were  driving  toward 
the  sun,  and  the  sun  was  north  of  us  and  Cunnamulla  lay  that 
way.  Much  of  the  time  we  were  traveling  thru  bush  country, 
where  no  track  or  trail  was  visible,  but  our  greatest  danger 
was  that  of  becoming  mired  in  the  banks  or  bottoms  of  the 
small  creeks  we  had  to  cross. 

It  began  to  grow  dark  before  six  o'clock,  and  we  had 
still  fifty  miles  to  go.  Fortunately,  in  one  way,  but  unfor- 
tunately from  the  standpoint  of  comfort,  from  that  point 
in  to  Cunnamulla  there  was  a  road.  The  unfortunate  part  of 
it  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  road  was  deeply  rutted,  cut  by  the 
wheels  of  wool  wagons  drawn  by  thirty  oxen  and  carrying 
loads  of  six  to  eight  tons.  The  ruts  were  hard  to  negotiate  in 
the  dark,  and  all  hands  frequently  had  to  clamber  out  and 
help  the  driver  back  the  car  out  of  sand  or  mire. 

We  had  started  with  a  leg  of  mutton,  some  corned  beef, 
two  loaves  of  bread  and  a  full  waterbag.  We  ate  sparingly 
at  lunch  because  we  fully  expected  to  fail  to  finish  the  trip 
that  day,  and  we  did  not  know  when  we  might  mire  fast  or 
have  a  breakdown  and  one  of  us  would  have  to  walk  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  miles  for  liel]).  It  was  with  great  relief,  there- 
fore, that  at  ten  o'clock  we  saw  tiie  lights  of  the  village  ahead. 
We  pulled  up  at  the  hotel  just  as  every  one  was  going  to  bed — 
and  just  as  the  gasoline  gave  out.  A  little  (ireek  restaurant 
su])plied  us  with  the  best  hrun  and  eggs  we  ever  ate — or  at 
least  so  our  hunger  tfjid  us. 

Our  (irixcr  inlciuled  returning  early  tlie  next  morning,  so 
I  settled  witli  him  tliat  night.  The  meter  on  the  car  registered 
I9(S  miles,  but  the  driver  claimed  that  the  meter  ran  slow  and 
that  we  had  actually  covered  sixty  miles  more  than  was  regis- 


QUEENSLAND 


207 


Queensland  is  second  in  importance  as  regards  sheep  among  the 
states  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  the  western  part  of  the  state — the  dry 
belt — the  wool-producing  merino  is,  of  course,  the  principal  breed,  but  m 
the  regions  near  the  coast  the  British  breeds,  such  as  the  English  Leicester, 
Border  Leicester,  Lincoln,  Southdown,  Dorset,  Roscommon,  Romney 
Marsh  and  Shropshire,  as  well  as  the  New  Zealand  bred  Corriedale  and 
merino  crossbreeds  are  raised  for  both  mutton  and  wool.  A  hundred 
million  pounds  of  wool  are  produced  in  the  state  annually,  on  the  average. 


tered.  Altogether  I  paid  him  $175,  but  it  was  worth  it.  In 
no  other  way  could  I  have  gained  the  personal  information 
necessary  to  understand  the  merino  wool  sheep  industry  of 
Australia. 

The  sheep  country  is  divided  into  great  fields — paddocks 
they  call  them — from  one  to  five  miles  wide  and  running  to 
some  point  where  there  is  water,  either  creek  or  tank.  We  took 
turns  in  opening  gates  from  one  paddock  into  the  next ; 
after  the  fiftieth  gate  I  lost  count.  The  last  hundred  miles  of 
our  trip  lay  in  Queensland.  We  came  into  the  state  thru  a 
gate  in  the  700-mile  rabbit  fence,  six  feet  high,  which  separates 
the  two  states. 

This  fence  is  patrolled  from  one  end  to  the  other  by  out- 
riders of  each  state,  and  is  kept  in  constant  repair.  For  years 
before  I  came  to  Australia  I  had  heard  more  about  the  rabbits 
eating  up  the  country  than  about  anything  else,  but  in  this  two 
hundred  miles  of  sheep  and  cattle  country  I  saw  never  a  rabbit. 


208 


AUSTRALIA 


A  typical  scene  in  the  cattle  country  of  Queensland. 


In  fact,  the  wild  animal  life  was  confined  to  a  few  kangaroos 
and  emus. 

I  found  that  the  country  on  the  Xew  South  Wales  side  of 
the  fence  is  given  over  almost  entirely  to  sheep,  which  was 
true  also  of  the  first  fifty  miles  in  Queensland,  but  after  that 
we  ran  into  country  where  there  were  both  cattle  and  sheep, 
with  cattle  predominating.  Queensland  is  the  real  cattle 
state  of  Australia.  This  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  here 
is  to  be  found  a  fine  grass  for  grazing.  Sheep  do  well  on 
the  herbage  that  is  found  in  other  states,  but  cattle  will  eat  it 
only  when  there  is  nothing  else.  Also,  with  the  exception  of 
the  southwestern  part  of  the  state,  which  lies  in  the  dry  belt  of 
Australia,  the  average  rainfall  is  plentiful,  so  that  every  variety 
of  food  and  forage  for  man  and  beast  is  grown. 

We  had  to  lay  over  in  Cunnamulla  all  the  next  day  because 
it  is  the  end  of  a  branch  line  and  trains  run  only  twice  a  week. 
After  learning  that,  1  was  rather  surprised  when  I  got  to  the 
station  the  next  morning,  for  1  fotnid  that  the  train  had  sleepers 
for  the  entire  600-mile  run  to  l>risbanc,  the  state  cajjital,  on  the 
east  coast,  and  that  it  was  also  carrying  a  dining  car.     Here 


QUEENSLAND 


209 


neat  girls  (not  crap-shooting  negroes  as  on  American  trains) 
served  us  breakfast,  luncheon,  dinner,  and  tea  in  the  forenoon 
and  tea  in  the  afternoon.  And  at  four-thirty  the  next  morning 
the  white  sleeping  car  porter-conductor  woke  us  to  proffer 
morning  tea  and  biscuits,  altho  shortly  after  seven  o'clock  we 
were  due  to  breakfast  at  one  of  the  thirty-two  railroad  lunch 
stands  and  dining  rooms  which  the  government  maintains. 

The  dining  car  charges  were  most  reasonable  and  the  food 
good.  I  learned  that  the  state-owned  railroads  of  Queensland 
are  operating  at  a  loss,  but  at  that  there  has  been  no  lowering 
of   the    standard   of    service.      Queensland   has   the   greatest 


Queensland  carries  approximately  6,000,000  head  of  cattle,  or  more 
than  the  aggregate  herd  of  all  the  other  states.  In  the  beef  strains 
Shorthorns  predominate,  with  Here  fords  next  in  favor  and  then  Aber- 
deen-Angus, Norfolks,  Devons  and  Sussex.  There  are  fourteen  large 
meat  works  in  the  state.  Their  annual  production  is  valued  at  $40,000,- 
000.  The  twenty-two  cattle  stations  owned  by  the  state  government 
have  herds  totaling  200,000  head. 


2IO  AUSTRALIA 

mileage    of    any    state    in    the    Commonwealth — 5.640    miles. 

Once  when  we  stopped  I  was  amused  to  see  the  chef  climb 
out  of  the  car  and  pluck  two  ripe  watermelons  from  vines 
alongside  the  tracks,  volunteer  plants  from  seeds  thrown  there 
in  days  gone  by  by  some  passenger  no  doubt.  It  was  a  striking 
instance  of  the  truth  of  the  claim  of  Queenslanders  that  any- 
thing will  grow  in  their  state  if  it  has  water. 

The  first  day  of  our  way  lay  mostly  thru  bush  country 
very  similar  to  that  we  had  traversed  by  motor  car.  But  we 
saw  many  broad  acres  of  thick-growing  tall  grass,  both  wild 
and  sown,  which  is  one  reason  why  the  state  is  able  to  feed 
some  6,000.000  cattle  a  year,  practically  double  that  of  any  other 
state.  It  comes  a  close  second  in  sheep-raising,  with  17,000,000 
head.  About  dark  of  this  first  day  we  noticed  much  cactus 
and  prickly  pear  and  next  morning  revealed  the  same  condi- 
tion. No  way  of  wiping  out  these  pests  has  yet  been  found ; 
they  unfit  the  land  for  tillage,  but  do  not  prevent  grazing  of 
livestock. 

The  closer  we  got  to  the  coast  and  the  area  of  greater 
rainfall,  the  richer  grew  the  land  and  the  more  it  was  culti- 
vated. At  that,  of  the  429,120,000  acres  in  the  state  less  than 
2,000,000  acres  are  being  cultivated,  while  fully  300,000,000 
are  being  used  for  grazing.  From  this  it  may  readily  be  seen 
why  Queensland  has  a  population  of  only  three-quarters  of  a 
million  people.  Most  of  the  state  lies  within  the  true  tropics — 
from  10  to  28  degrees  south  of  the  equator — and  the  white 
man  never  has  succeeded  in  a  laboring  capacity  in  a  climate 
less  than  20  degrees  from  the  equator.  The  "White  Australia" 
policy  prevents  the  bringing  in  of  colored  labor,  the  only  kind 
that  can  make  Queensland  produce  up  to  her  natural  capacity. 
I'or  that  reason  she  will  remain  for  many  years  to  come  a  cattle 
and  sheep  state,  with  fruit-raising  and  agriculture  of  secondary 
importance. 

Most  of  the  grazing  land  will  carr\-  one  sheep  to  five  acres 
under  normal  conditions,  Init  near  tlie  coast,  where  tame  grasses 
arc  grown  and  where  the  rainfall  is  abundant,  there  arc  places 
where  for  iialf  of  the  year  three  sheep  may  be  grazed  upon  one 


QUEENSLAND 


211 


They  say  "anything  will  grow  in  Queensland  if  you  can  give  it 
water."  Certainly,  the  rich  soil  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state  has 
proved  it  can  grow  anything  that  grows  in  other  lands  within  the  tropics. 
Fruits  native  to  other  countries,  transplanted  to  Australia,  seem  to  grow 
larger  and  taste  better.  The  picture  shows  a  pineapple  plantation  in 
northern  Queensland,  the  homestead  set  up  on  the  highest  point  and  the 
surrounding  hillsides  covered  with  pineapples.  The  Queensland  pineapple 
is  said  by  experts  to  surpass  in  taste  that  of  Hawaii,  where  the  whole 
crop  is  sold  years  before  it  is  planted. 


acre.  In  these  same  places  cattle  and  horses  are  carried  on 
an  acre  each,  tho  most  of  the  state  requires  ten  acres  for  each 
animal. 

It  is  principally  in  the  western  portion  that  the  merino 
sheep  are  raised,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  merino  requires  less 
water  than  any  other  sheep ;  in  fact  the  absence  of  much  rain 
is  given  as  the  reason  why  Australia  produces  the  finest  merino 
wool  in  the  world.  In  the  coastal  regions  the  British  breeds 
and  cross-bred  sheep  are  more  favored  by  the  mixed  farmers, 
who  raise  sheep  for  both  mutton  and  wool. 

At  the  hotel  where  we  stopped  in  Brisbane  we  had  dail}- 
reminders  of  the  richness  of  Queensland  soil  in  the  shape  of 
luscious  fruits,  as  well  as  the  beautiful  flowers  which  adorned 
all  the  tables.     I  have  seldom  tasted  more  delicious  fruit  and 


212 


AUSTRALIA 


was  interested  to  learn  that  bananas  can  be  grown  almost  to 
the  very  border  of  New  South  Wales,  29  degrees  south  of 
the  equator ;  I  know  of  no  other  country  where  this  is  possible. 

I  learned  that  sugar-cane  is  responsible  for  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  the  agricultural  wealth  of  Queensland,  which  grows 
the  bulk  of  the  cane  needed  to  furnish  the  Commonwealth  with 
part  of  its  sugar.  Of  late  the  demand  is  getting  ahead  of  the 
state's  production,  due  to  the  ever-increasing  fruit  industry  and 
the  consequent  growth  of  the  canning  and  preserving  of  these 
fruits  for  export.  Australia  has  been  forced  to  go  abroad 
for  only  a  small  amount  so  far,  but  the  proportion  is  bound 
to  increase,  as  the  raising  of  cane  is  essentially  a  tropical  indus- 
try and  is  more  profitable  when  cheap  colored  labor  can  be 
used. 

Queensland's  forests  are  another  source  of  wealth,  but  until 


Fiji  Islands  formerly  sui)i)licd  Australia  with  bananas.  Queensland 
now  >?rows  a  supply  that  takes  care  of  mucii  of  the  demand.  The  (|ual- 
ity  equals  that  of  the  Fiji  fruit. 


QUEENSLAND 


Mineral  wealth  valued  at  $20,000,000  is  taken  annually  from  the  soil 
of  the  state  of  Queensland.  Most  famous  of  all  Australian  mines  is 
the  Mount  Morgan,  in  northern  Queensland,  discovered  in  1886,  which 
has  produced  gold  and  copper  worth  $125,000,000.  The  picture  shows 
a  part  of  the  Mount  Morgan  property. 


recently  the  state  has  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  her  sister 
states  and  has  permitted  indiscriminate  destruction  of  valuable 
timber  without  any  attempt  at  re-forestation,  a  mistake  which 
she  is  trying  now  to  rectify  in  the  state  reserves. 

The  state  ranks  fourth  in  the  Commonwealth  in  the  pro- 
duction of  all  minerals,  but  she  leads  in  none.  She  is  third  in 
gold  and  second  in  copper,  tin  and  coal.  Most  of  her  mineral 
wealth  is  due  to  the  wonderful  Mount  Morgan  gold  and  copper 
mines  in  the  northeast  section  of  the  state,  which  were  discov- 
ered in  1 886  and  have  had  an  output  since  then  valued  at 
$125,000,000. 

I  was  glad  afterwards  that  we  had  come  into  Queensland 
by  the  back  door,  as  it  were,  to  see  for  ourselves  the  country 
about  which  we  had  heard  so  much,  and  to  wind  up  in  the 
parlor,  which  is  the  capital  city  of  Brisbane.  We  found  the 
city  very  pleasant  and  our  hotel  a  delight,  so  I  believe  it  was 
a  good  thing  we  reversed  the  usual  order,  for  the  inclination 


214 


AUSTRALIA 


to  fall  into  the  habit,  universal  here,  of  taking  things  easy  was 
hard  to  resist. 

Our  first  view  of  the  city  was  from  one  of  those  vehicles 
sometimes  called  ''sea-going  hacks."  It  was  a  full  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  station  to  the  hotel,  and  the  ancient  steed 
which  drew  the  hack  along  took  his  time  about  it,  but  we  did 
not  care.    No  one  seemed  to  be  in  any  great  rush. 

It  was  around  the  beginning  of  the  Australian  autumn  and 
we  discovered  that  the  showers  which  fell  at  frequent  intervals 
during  our  first  day  had  been  doing  that  same  thing  for  a 
month.  One  day  we  awoke  to  find  it  raining,  and  it  rained 
steadily  all  day.  "But,"  said  the  first  person  I  met,  "this  is 
very  unusual  weather,  very  unusual."  And  almost  every  one 
else  said  the  same  thing.  So  I  looked  up  the  ofticial  records 
and  found  that  for  the  last  ten  years  about  half  of  the  days 
had  been  w^et  ones. 

During  these  same  years  the  average  summer  heat  was 
under  lOO  degrees  and  the  greatest  cold  was  over  36  degrees 

above  zero.  As 
for  our  party,  we 
found  the  weath- 
er very  comfort- 
able.    It  was  not 


A  snap-shot  of  Mr.  Boyce  and  the  "sea-poinp;  liack"  from  which  he 
had  his  first  view  of  Urisliane. 


QUEENSLAND 


215 


■M^l 


'Wf'i^f\.   -5^4: 


A  geological  survey  of  the  coal  lands  in  Queensland  says  that  in 
area  it  is  vastly  greater  than  the  coal  lands  of  England  and  Wales.  One 
estimate  says  there  are  practically  79,000  square  miles  of  coal  land  in 
Queensland.  The  Pennsylvania  fields  in  the  United  States  are  within 
an  area  of  less  than  500  square  miles.  The  picture  shoves  the  Tanny- 
morel  coal  mine. 


unpleasantly  warm  by  day,  and  at  night  one  could  use  a  blan- 
ket with  comfort. 

From  the  window  of  my  room  in  the  hotel  I  could  see  across 
the  street  a  dignified  building  a  block  long  and  almost  as  deep — 
the  building  which  houses  the  parliament  of  Queensland,  which 
has  passed  more  freak  laws  than  any  other  governing  body, 
I  believe,  in  the  world.  Queensland  has  had  for  many  years 
a  labor  government  with  socialistic  ideas  and  ideals,  attempting 
by  means  of  legislation  to  cure  all  the  ills  of  the  individual 
and  the  state. 

The  Labor  party  came  into  power  in  19 14.  The  cost  of 
living  was  the  issue  and  the  rallying  cry  was  "cheap  bread, 
cheap  beef  and  high  wages."  AMien  the  reins  of  government 
were  turned  over  to  the  Laborites  it  soon  became  evident  that 


2i6  AUSTRALIA 

they  meant  to  attempt  to  carry  out  their  pledges.  They  were 
going  to  substitute  legislation  for  the  laws  of  supply  and  de- 
mand, the  real  factors  in  determining  wages  and  the  cost  of 
food.  It  is  to  their  credit,  of  course,  that  they  really  tried  to 
do  what  they  had  promised,  but  I  find  that  now,  after  a  thoro 
test,  in  spite  of  the  legislation,  the  cost  of  living  in  Queens- 
land is  94.6  per  cent  higher,  while  wages  have  gone  up  only 
40  per  cent. 

Of  course  the  end  is  not  yet,  but  while  we  were  in  Brisbane 
the  Arbitration  Court,  which  determines  wages  in  each  line  of 
work,  in  handing  down  a  decision  dropped  a  gentle  hint  that 
the  limit  had  been  reached  and  that  it  would  consider  no  more 
applications  for  increases.  It  indicated  in  no  uncertain  terms 
its  belief  that  the  time  had  come  when  Australia,  like  the  rest 
of  the  world,  had  to  begin  to  think  about  bringing  wages  to  a 
normal  basis. 

"And  what  is  going  to  happen  to  the  Arbitration  Court  when 
it  tries  that?"  I  asked  a  newspaperman  who  had  long  covered 
the  court  for  his  paper. 

"Then  the  court  goes  blooey,"  he  replied.  "Labor  will 
compel  the  government  to  return  to  collective  bargaining." 

Employers  who  have  closed  down  because  they  felt  they 
could  not  pay  the  wages  awarded  and  make  a  profit  have 
met  disaster  thru  another  law  which  compels  any  company  to 
open  its  books  upon  demand  of  any  union  whose  men  it  cm- 
ploys,  and  let  the  men  determine  for  themselves  whether  the 
company  can  pay  the  wages  or  not ! 

The  situation  has  its  humorous  side.  In  the  hotel  at  which 
we  stopped  the  woman  owner  was  much  disturbed  by  a  new 
law  affecting  her  staff  of  employes.  For  twenty  years  she 
ha<l  had  the  same  cooks  and  had  built  up  a  reputation  for  a 
sijlcndid  table,  to  the  truth  of  which  1  will  gladly  testify., 
Yet  notice  had  been  served  on  her  that  she  must  discharge 
these  cooks  because  they  were  nonunion,  and  the  union  would 
not  take  them  in.  Instead  she  must  take  the  first  unemployed 
cooks  whose  names  appeared  on  the  union  books. 

"I  went  down  anrl  looked  them  over,"  she  wailed.     "Two 


QUEENSLAND 


217 


Queensland  House  of  Parliament,  Brisbane. 


of  them  came  from  a  sheep-shearing  camp  and  the  next  ones 
on  the  hst  were  ex-army  cooks !" 

Happy  was  I  that  we  were  leaving  Brisbane  before  she 
should  have  to  make  the  change. 

The  Labor  party  made  an  attempt  to  lower  the  cost  of 
living  by  engaging  in  the  various  businesses  which  handle  food 
products.  It  jumped  hopefully  into  cattle  raising  and  bought 
twenty-two  ranches ;  it  opened  fifty-one  butcher  shops  in 
various  parts  of  the  state ;  it  took  over  five  fisheries ;  it  bought 
and  equipped  a  fishing  trawler  for  deep-sea  work  and  opened 
shops  for  selling  fish ;  it  took  over  a  meat-packing  plant  and  a 
canning  works ;  it  installed  a  produce  agency  which  proposed 
to  handle  all  kinds  of  produce  without  paying  profits  to  a 
middleman ;  and  it  opened  its  own  hotel. 

The  state  operates  not  only  businesses  having  to  do  with 
the  cost  of  food,  it  has  tackled  mining  to  the  extent  of  six 
mines  and  the  lumber  business  to  the  extent  of  four  sawmills.   It 


2l8 


AUSTRALIA 


has  also  a  savings  bank  with  deposits  of  $70,000,000.  a  greater 
amount  per  capita  than  in  any  other  state,  and  an  insurance 
company,  successfully  handling  all  lines.  The  bank  handles  all 
the  advances  to  settlers  and  for  the  erection  of  homes  of  work- 
ers. Unfortunately,  these  advances,  once  limited  to  small 
amounts  sufficient  only  to  enable  a  workingman  to  build  a 
home,  have  been  increased  so  greatly  that  men  of  means  have 
been  able  to  borrow  enough  to  build  expensive  houses,  so  that 
the  little  fellow  has  often  had  to  wait  till  the  state  gets  in  more 
money  before  he  can  borrow. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  any  of  the  businesses  engaged  in 
by  the  state  have  been  commercial  successes,  except  insurance. 
The  cattle  stations  are  not  yet  paid  for ;  the  deep-sea  fishing 
was  found  to  be  too  expensive  as  the  trawler  had  to  go  so  far 
away  from  Brisbane  that  its  cargo  spoiled  before  it  could  get 
back.  Other  fish  caught  nearer  the  market  cannot  be  sold  at 
a  profit  after  the  state  has  paid  the  state-employed  union  fisher- 
men for  their  catch.     All  of  these  undertakings  must  be  paid 


Treasury   Rnildinp.  Brisbane. 


QUEENSLAND 


219 


for  some  day,  for  they 
were  bought  on  credit,  but 
the  payment  will  have  to 
come  from  taxes  and  not 
from  the  profits  of  the  busi- 
ness. 

The  railways,  u  p  o  n 
which  so  much  has  been 
spent,  have  shown  a  profit, 
it  is  true,  but  they  ha\c 
not  been  able  to  pay  inter- 
est on  the  investment. 
They  have  taken  the  big- 
gest part — about  52  per 
cent — of  the  money  spent 
by  the  state  under  I>abor 
control.  The  number  of 
rail  employes  has  been 
doubled,  but  in  spite  of 
that  the  number  of  train 
miles  has  been  cut  10  per 
cent.  Fares  are  low,  as  are 
other  expenses  incident  to 

travel,  but  Queensland,  with  more  miles  of  rail  than  any  other 
state,  had,  in  1920,  when  interest  charges  were  added  to  operat- 
ing expenses,  a  deficit  more  than  three  times  as  great  as  the 
next  highest  state  and  took  in  less  money  per  mile  than  any 
of  them. 

The  test  of  sound  government  is  sound  finance.  Judged 
by  this  standard,  Queensland  is  the  poorest  governed  state  in 
the  Commonwealth  just  now.  About  the  time  that  our  party 
was  landing  in  Australia  the  papers  were  carrying  many  ar- 
ticles about  the  etTorts  of  the  state  to  borrow  $10,000,000  from 
the  financiers  of  England,  but  which  had  met  with  no  success. 
It  struck  me  as  rather  strange  that  the  state  which  every  one 
in  Australia  boosted  as  one  of  the  greatest  in  natural  re- 
sources and  with  tremendous  assets  in  the  way  of  state-owned 


The  building  in  Brisbane  which  houses  the 
general  offices  of  the  state  insurance  business. 
This  is  one  of  the  best  buildings  in  Australia. 


220 


AUSTRALIA 


No  fewer  than  700  boys  and  girls  passed  our 
hotel  in  Brisbane,  morning  and  evening,  on 
their  way  to  and  from  technical  college.  Their 
bright  faces  and  healthy  walk  easily  accounted 
for  the  wonderful  race  Queensland  is  producing. 
They  are  acquiring  a  practical  education  which 
some  day  will  change  the  viewpoint  of  the  state 
and  save  it  from  the  logic  of  radicalism. 


properties  should  be  un- 
able to  borrow  compara- 
tively a  small  sum. 

Two  months  after  the 
London  bankers  had  re- 
fused the  loan  I  was  in 
Brisbane,  where  I  learned 
that  the  government  had 
raised  the  ten  million 
among  the  people  of  the 
state.  "Well,"  thought  I, 
''no  matter  what  the  Brit- 
ish bankers  may  think,  the 
people  of  Queensland  them- 
selves have  confidence  in 
their  state  and  its  ability  to 
pay  up." 

Then  I  learned  that  only 
5,000   persons    out    of   the 


^^^' 


A    Queensland    sawmil 


QUEENSLAND 


221 


Queensland  might  be  called  a  land  of  goats,  for  these  animals  are 
much  used  to  pull  small  delivery  carts  in  the  smaller  towns  where 
trade  is  not  heavy  enough  to  justify  the  expense  of  a  horse.  It  is  no 
mark  of  distinction  for  a  boy  to  own  a  goat  in  Queensland,  for  the 
chances  are  the  boy  "next  door"  has  one,  too.  Goat  races  are  quite 
common,  as  are  teams  of  four  to  six  goats  for  hauling  in  the  »-ural 
districts. 


700,000  in  the  state  had  subscribed  to  the  loan,  and  accom- 
panying this  news  was  the  intimation  that  the  government, 
even  then  preparing  to  float  another  loan,  proposed  to  pass  a 
law  requiring  all  the  people  to  subscribe  to  loans  in  proportion 
to  the  taxable  wealth. 

Queensland  owes  $327,500,000,  the  biggest  debt  per  capita 
of  any  state  in  Australia.  Unlike  Western  Australia,  whose 
debt  is  as  large,  it  has  not  been  able  to  put  any  money  into  a 
sinking  fund  toward  redeeming  its  obligations.  The  interest 
alone  amounts  to  $15,500,000  a  year,  and  on  its  latest  home 
loans  the  state  has  had  to  pay  six  per  cent  in  order  to  get  the 
money  at  all. 

The  revenues  of  the  state,  from  taxation,  railways,  the 
islands  attached  to  Queensland,  licenses,  etc.,  and  the  money  re- 
ceived from  the  federal  government  as  Queensland's  share  of 
the  customs,  has  fallen  far  short  of  its  needs.  Yet  taxation 
has  been  increased  almost  300  per  cent  under  Labor  govern- 


222  AUSTRALIA 

ment.  In  1914  the  rate  was  just  under  $7  per  capita;  in  1920 
it  was  over  $20  a  head  of  population. 

\\'hen  the  Labor  party  was  campaigning  for  office  it  held  up 
its  hands  in  horror  at  a  state  debt  of  $250,000,000,  yet  since 
then  it  not  only  has  not  paid  off  any  debts,  but  has  increased 
them  by  $77,500,000.  over  $475  for  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  state.  The  revenue  before  1914  was  slightly  more 
than  the  expenditures ;  now  the  condition  is  reversed  and  there 
is  a  deficit  each  year. 

When  this  government  desired  to  borrow  money  in  England, 
the  British  financiers  and  government  refused  to  advance  more 
money,  but  Queensland  came  to  the  United  States  and  bor- 
rowed from  the  Standard  Oil's  New  York  bank. 

Oueenslanders,  when  you  mention  their  state  government 
to  them,  remind  me  of  an  audience  which  has  gone  to  see  a 
highly  advertised  show  and  finds  it  "so  bad  it  is  good,"  and 


Meat  works  in  Queensland  for  the  most  part  are  operated  for  the 
packing  of  hcef,  for,  unlike  other  parts  of  Australia,  cattle,  not  sheep, 
arc  the  princi])al  stock  fccdinj::  on  the  state's  rich  ranpes.  Much  Ameri- 
can capital  is  invested  in  Australia's  meat  business.  The  quality  of  tlie 
beef  is  not  as  good  as  in  the  United  States  because  in  Queensland  grain 
is  fed  only  when  drouth  shrivels  the  grass. 


QUEENSLAND  223 

who  encore  the  players  out  of  derision.  That  is  what  the 
Queenslanders  did  in  the  last  election,  for  they  returned  the 
Labor  government  to  power.    The  Premier  is  a  Roumanian. 

The  only  place  where  the  Socialist  Labor  government  of 
Queensland  has  made  a  good  showing  in  doing  business  has 
been  in  the  state  government  insurance  dei)artmcnt,  where, 
during  the  last  five  years,  the  net  amount  passed  to  profit  and 
reserve  was  over  three  million  dollars.  This  business  required 
no  capital,  as  the  whole  state  of  Queensland  was  behind  it. 
It  is  the  one  state  business  that  all  the  states  of  the  L'nited 
States  could  successfully  conduct  at  enormous  profit,  because 
the  insurance  business  is  only  a  capitalistic  graft  anywhere. 
The  Queensland  state  insurance  business  is  divided  into  three 
departments,  the  accident  and  workers'  compensation  forming 
one.  This  is  practically  conducted  on  the  mutual  plan.  All 
employers  who  pay  wages  or  salaries  are  obliged  to  insure 
with  the  state.  This  department  is  conducted  without  profit, 
the  $500,000  a  year  net  earnings  being  on  the  fire  and  life 
insurance  departments,  which  are  conducted  on  a  competitive 
basis  with  the  old  line  fire  and  life  insurance  companies.  Some 
years  ago  the  government  started  to  put  up  the  building  for 
a  savings  bank.  Since  that  time  the  state  has  gone  out  of  the 
banking  business,  but  is  finishing  up  the  building  for  its  insur- 
ance department.  It  is  the  finest  building  in  Queensland  and 
one  of  the  very  best  m  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia. 


AiKjliiLT  picture  from  the  "hit;'  tinihcr"  wliitli  is  one  ol  tin.'  cliiif 
sources  of  Australia's  wealth.  These  men  arc  getting  out  piles  for  South 
Africa. 


DOMINION 


OF 


NEW  ZEALAND 


Ill    many   oi   its    i)Iia.sc'S    New    Zealand    iiKuintain  scciktv    vies    with 

till'  Aljis  in  beauty  and  j^randeiir.     In  this  i)icture  you  are  l<Kjkinj^  aeross 

Mil  ford   Sound,  locked  within   its  mountain  walls,  to  Mount   I'enibrokc, 
glacier  girded  and  hooded  with  perpetual  snow. 


INTRODUCTION 

Nl^^W  ZEALAND,  a  most  interesting  country  in  both  nat- 
ural and  governmental  history,  has  not  commanded  the 
attention  it  rightly  deserves  because  of  a  mistaken  notion  that 
it  is  "over  somewhere  near  Australia,"  and  that,  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes,  it  is  a  component  part  of  that  continent. 

It  is  a  standing  joke  in  New  Zealand  that  even  in  Great 
Britain  the  popular  idea  of  the  location  of  these  two  countries 
is  such  that  the  average  man  at  home  sees  no  reason  why  resi- 
dents of  Sydney  should  not  run  over  to  Wellington  by  ferry 
and  spend  the  week-end.  It  would  require  eight  days  of  travel 
for  the  round  trip  to  spend  the  week-end  in  Wellington  if  one 
resided  in  Sydney.  The  distance  is  1,200  miles,  or  four  days' 
sailing  each  way  for  ferry  boats,  and  the  fare  for  the  round 
trip  is  one  hundred  dollars — approximately  what  we  paid  for 
first-class  passage  across  the  Atlantic  before  the  Great  War. 

The  naturalist  will  tell  you  that  the  difi^erences  between 
New  Zealand  and  Australia  are  most  fundamental.  There  was 
not  a  four-footed  animal  in  New  Zealand  before  Captain  Cook, 
in  1769,  made  the  natives  a  gift  of  some  pigs.  Australia  had 
many  fotir-footed  animals  native  to  it,  all  of  them  being  mar- 
supial— having  a  pouch  in  which  they  carry  their  young.  The 
geologist  will  ofl:er  you  as  further  evidence  of  the  distinctive 
characters  of  the  two  countries  the  thermal  springs  district  of 
New  Zealand  and  the  volcanic  character  of  the  mountains.  The 
ethnological  evidence  will  show  you  that  the  Maori  natives  of 
New  Zealand  are  a  race  vastly  superior  to  the  black  natives 
of  Australia.  The  fact  that  New  Zealand  has  seventeen  ports 
naturally  so  deep  that  ocean-going  ships  can  safely  come  up  to 
the  clocks,  while  the  seven  major  ports  in  Australia  are  com- 
paratively   shallow    and    have    required    much    dredging,    will 

227 


228  NEJJ'  ZEALAND 

suggest  to  the  layman  that  there  are  some  very  fundamental 
differences  between  the  two  countries. 

The  Alaori  natives  of  New  Zealand  are,  perhaps,  the 
most  intelligent  wild  tribes  with  which  the  white  man  came 
in  contact  in  early  days.  To  the  person  who  knows  the 
native  Hawaiian,  the  Maoris  may  not  appear  as  wonderful  as 
to  the  person  who  knows  only  the  Maoris.  The  Hawaiian  and 
the  Maoris  are  undoubtedly  the  same  race.  They  are  of  supe- 
rior intelligence  and  quickly  adapt  themselves  to  the  ways  of 
the  white  man.  The  Maori  is  as  far  ahead  of  the  Australian 
black  as  an  educated  Chinaman  is  ahead  of  a  native  African 
in  his  jungle  environment. 

The  New  Zealander  takes  very  good  care  of  the  Maori 
native,  but  takes  care,  also,  that  there  shall  be  no  more  colored 
people  admitted  to  the  country,  for  New  Zealand  has  the  most 
iron-clad  "white  man  policy"  in  existence.  If  you  go  into  that 
country  with  black,  yellow,  brown  or  red  servants,  you  check 
them  at  the  dock.  Only  white  men  and  women  are  permitted 
in  the  country,  and  such  arguments  as  the  need  of  cheap  labor 
for  the  rapid  development  of  the  country  has  no  power  to 
let  down  the  bars. 

This  policy  makes  the  country  of  unusual  interest  at  this 
time  when  the  colored  races  are  awakening  and  demanding 
recognition. 

I  was  impressed  by  the  fact  that  1  had  to  correct  most  of 
my  ideas  about  New  Zealand  based  on  my  reading.  Having 
read  so  nuich  about  the  radical  things  attempted  there,  I  was 
prepared  to  find  a  country  of  agitators  and  soap-box  orators. 
1  found  instead  a  sober-minded,  determined  population,  well 
rooted  in  common  sense.  T  found  that  the  country's  history 
in  many  phases  of  its  political  acli\ilics  was  not  unlike  the 
history  of  Kansas  or  the  Dakotas.  Many  idealistic  and,  ])er- 
haps,  foolish  political  i)anaceas  had  been  advanced.  Some  of 
them  got  as  far  as  legislative  enactment.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  good  sense  and  jiraitieal  U'mperamenl  ot  the  Xew  Zea- 
lander asserted  llieniseKes  and  if  ibere  ever  was  an  anil)ilion 
to  build  a  L  toiiia.  before  anv  real  daniaije  bad  been  dune,  the 


Sutherland   l-'alls,   one   of   the  most   picturesque   views    in   the 
Mil  ford  Sound  district. 


230  NEJV  ZEALAND 

plans  and  specifications  were  changed  to  provide  for  human 
nature  as  it  is  and  to  encourage  men  to  labor  and  produce  by 
assuring  them  that  they  would  reap  the  full  value  of  their 
efforts. 

New  Zealand  is  in  the  insurance  business.  In  this  field  it 
has  made  a  wonderful  success.  There  is  nothing  paternalistic 
in  the  program.  It  is  straight  business,  without  even  politics 
in  it.  New  Zealand  has  developed  a  business  sense  which  it 
takes  into  politics.  There  is  much  Scotch  blood  in  New  Zea- 
land. The  Prime  Minister  told  me  that  they  tried  to  have  the 
fewest  possible  people  on  the  payrolls  of  the  government  at 
election  time.  In  the  United  States,  our  national,  state  and 
municipal  payrolls  are  substantially  stuffed  just  before  an  elec- 
tion. The  Prime  Minister  said  they  didn't  want  too  many  on 
the  payroll  because  the  employes  would  tell  the  government 
what  to  do.  The  New  Zealander  lives  eight  years  longer  than 
we  in  the  United  States,  and,  I  suspect,  he  gets  more  out 
of  every  year  of  his  longer  life  than  we  get  out  of  each  year 
of  our  shorter  life.  One  factor  in  this  exceptional  mortality 
record  may  be  that  the  New  Zealander  has  used  his  political 
organization  to  minimize  anxiety  about  the  future  on  the  part 
of  those  who  work  and  devote  themselves  to  productive  busi- 
ness. With  the  insurance  system  ofl^ering  maximum  protec- 
tion at  minimum  cost,  with  the  absence  of  competition  with 
colored  labor,  with  access  to  the  land  on  attractive,  easy  terms, 
with  the  absence  of  trust  competition,  the  New  Zealand  laborer, 
farmer  and  business  man  knows  that  he  will  reap  the  present 
and  future  fruits  of  his  own  industry  and  eft'ort. 

In  subsequent  pages  I  have  endeavored  to  present  a  picture 
of  New  Zealand  as  she  is  today,  with  enough  of  her  historical 
setting  to  enable  the  reader  to  properly  appraise  the  country's 
progress  and  to  relate  the  outstanding  features  of  her  political, 
social  and  industrial  life  to  the  character  and  aspirations  of 
the  people. 

To  the  Prime  Minister  of  New  Zealand,  the  Hon.  W.  J. 
Massey,  I  am  indebted  for  cordial  co-oi)cration.  Other  govern- 
ment   officials    and    many    i)rivate    citizens    rendered    valua])!e 


INTRODUCTION  231 

service  in  making  available  to  me  materials  and  facts  essential 
to  the  proper  understanding  of  New  Zealand  of  today.  The 
uniform  cordiality  I  encountered  everywhere  in  the  country 
made  my  visit  of  investigation  one  of  the  most  pleasant  of  all 
my  travels,  and  it  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  1  should 
now  have  a  very  intimate  interest  in  this  outpost  of  white 
civilization  in  the  South  Pacific.  As  the  IVime  Minister  said 
in  a  letter  to  me.  written  in  February,  1921  : 

"In  our  own  way  New  Zealanders  are  building  up  a  British 
nation  in  the  South  Pacific  in  much  the  same  fashion  as  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
great  American  Nation  of  today." 

The  following  pages  will,  I  believe,  ofifer  the  reader  a 
modern  picture  of  this  interesting  country  and  these  deter- 
mined, liberty-loving  people  who  share  with  us  a  passion  for 
democracy  and  a  common  white  ancestry. 

W.  D.  BOYCE. 


I 


The  New  Zealand  mountain  daisy. 


One  of  the  outstanding  figures  in  tlic  contemporary  political  life  of 
New  Zealand  is  William  P'erguson  Massey,  for  the  last  nine  years 
Prime  Minister,  and  the  leader  of  the  Reform  Party  since  1903.  He 
was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  sixty-five  years  ago,  his  parents  go- 
ing to  New  Zealand,  in  1862,  to  be  followed  eight  years  later  by  this 
son  who  had  remained  behind  to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  of 
good  schools.  Premier  Massey  is  more  than  a  politician;  he  is  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  knows  from  intimate  experiences  the  needs  and 
prr>I)lem.s  of  his  peo])le.  He  represented  the  Dominion  in  the  peace 
negotiations  in  Paris  and  is  one  of  the  few  liig  men  in  power  during 
the  war  who  have  been  retained  in  power  since  the  war. 


■21.2, 


DOMINION  OF  NEW  ZEALAND 

Prime  Minister's  Office 

WeLLINGTOxV. 

2nd  February,  1921 
Dear  Mr.  Boyce, 

I  willingly  comply  with  your  request  to  send  a  few  words 
of  greeting,  on  behalf  of  the  Government  and  people  of  New 
Zealand,  to  our  kinsmen  in  the  United  States. 

In  our  own  way  New  Zealanders  are  building  up  a  British 
nation  in  the  South  Pacific  in  much  the  same  fashion  as  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
Great  American  nation  of  today.  We  rejoice  in  the  fact  that, 
in  the  hour  of  the  world's  greatest  tribulation,  New  Zealanders 
and  Americans  were  found  fighting  side  by  side,  on  French 
soil,  in  upholding  those  principles  of  Truth,  Liberty  and 
Justice  upon  which  both  the  British  Empire  and  the  United 
States  have  moulded  their  destinies.  Could  it  have  been  other- 
wise with  people  of  whom  it  has  been  so  well  written: 

"We  must  be  free  or  die,  who  speak  the  tongue 

That  Shakespeare  spake ;  the  faith  and  morals  hold 

Which  Milton  held." 

Under  differing  Constitutions  we  maintain  our  positions 
as  the  freest  countries  of  the  world,  and  we  New  Zealanders 
look  hopefully  forward  to  that  day  when  the  English  si)eaking 
peoples  will  stand  unitedly  for  the  protection  of  the  weak 
against  those  strong  and  ruthless  nations  who  might  seek, 
without  such  corrective  influence,  to  hold  them  in  bondage. 
The  British  ideal  has  been  well  pictured  by  one  of  our  poets  in 
the  words : 

"Free  voice,  free  aid,  free  counsel : — a  free  throne 

By  freemen  circled,  each  respecting  each ; 

A  realm  self-centred,  yet  with  arm  to  reach 

Where  earth's  oppress'd  ones  groan." 
That  ideal   we  hold  largely  in  common,  and   knowing  we 

233 


234 


NEJJ'  ZEALAXD 


have  so  much  reason  to  respect  and  sympathise  with  one  an- 
other, I  say  "Heaven  grant  that  the  Union  Jack  and  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  may  ever  wave  together  as  the  champions  of  the 
world's  liberties."  The  people  of  New  Zealand  have  naught 
but  the  most  cordial  feeling  towards  the  citizens  of  the  great 
American  Commonwealth  to  whom  they  send,  through  me, 
this  expression  of  good  \\\\\. 

Yours  sincerely, 


A    vvcstfrn    \c\v    Zealand    sUikc    coacli. 


THROUGH    OTHER    EYES 

(from    the    WELLINGTON,    NEW    ZEALAND,    EVENING    POST) 

A  PROMINENT  Chicago  journalist,  Mr.  W.  D.  Boyce, 
has  been  a  visitor  to  New  Zealand  for  the  past  five  or 
six  weeks  gathering  information  about  this  country.  This 
evening  he  leaves  by  the  Manuka  for  Sydney  and  America. 
Yesterday,  during  a  conversation  on  matters  American,  he  was 
asked  by  a  Post  representative  to  state  what  to-day  was  the 
national  aim  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Boyce  said  that  his 
country's  national  aim  had  been  in  the  past  to  furnish  a  home 
for  the  people  of  other  countries  who  desired  to  improve  their 
material  condition. 

"The  present  policy  of  the  United  States,"  said  Mr.  Boyce, 
"as  nearly  as  I  can  make  out,  is  to  keep  the  United  States  for 
the  people  of  the  States — within  a  reasonable  degree." 

"\Miat  do  you  consider  or  what  do  you  gather  to  be,  from 
your  observations,  the  national  aims  of  New  Zealand?" 

"From  all  1  can  read  and  see,"  said  the  visitor,  "the  national 
aim  of  New  Zealand  is  to  keep  the  Dominion  for  New  Zea- 
landers — to  keep  it  free  from  the  taint  of  coloured  races  and 
the  influence  of  undesirable  immigrants,  and  to  develope  it  for 
your  own  people."  The  Government  of  New  Zealand  seemed 
to  have  been  for  the  people  and  for  their  benefit  "from  the 
year  one."  From  the  Prime  Minister  downwards  everyone 
with  whom  he  had  spoken  seemed  to  be  thinking  first  and  fore- 
most of  their  country  and  its  welfare — how  to  make  it  a  better 
New  Zealand.  That,  to  him,  seemed  to  be  the  national  spirit 
here,  when  New  Zealand  possessed  a  population  of  five  millions 
it  would  then  have  inhabitants  equal,  in  proportion  to  area,  to 
the  United  States.     But  New  Zealand,  in  regard  to  population 

235 


236  NEW  ZEALAND 

was  heading  along  such  well-defined  lines  that  she  was  not 
likely  to  make  the  same  mistakes  as  America  in  admitting 
undesirables. 

"What  impresses  me  most  about  New  Zealand,""  ]\Ir.  Boyce 
added,  "is  that  you  have  solved  a  problem  that  worried  us 
greatly,  and  that  is  the  handling  of  trusts  by  the  establishment 
on  definite  lines  of  such  businesses  as  the  Public  Trust  and 
the  Fire  and  Life  Insurance  Departments,  which  have  had 
the  efifect  of  regulating  competition  and  prices."  New  Zealand, 
he  said,  was  like  America,  in  that  we  were  a  people  living  on 
the  soil.  That  was  the  basis  of  our  life.  And  while  we  had 
made  it  attractive  to  large  holders  of  land  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  open  up  the  country  quickly,  we  seemed  to  be  following 
a  very  sound  system  in  trying  equitably  to  divide  up  the  land 
into  small  holdings.  Of  course,  New  Zealand,  like  the  rest 
of  the  world,  had  its  industrial  problems,  but  from  the  study 
Mr.  Boyce  had  made  of  the  situation,  he  considered  Labour 
had  little  to  complain  of  so  far  as  the  general  conditions  were 
concerned  in  New  Zealand.  The  extremists  seemed  to  be 
making  up  in  noise  and  strife — disturbing  factors — what  they 
lacked  in  numerical  strength ;  but  he  ventured  to  express  the 
view  that  the  sane,  moderate  men  would  eventually  shake  ofif 
the  iiifluence  of  the  agitators  and  realise  that  e\olutionary,  not 
revolutionary,  methods  were  in  the  best  interests  of  all  con- 
cerned. "The  sane  New  Zealander,  from  what  I  have  seen  of 
him,  is  a  fine,  sturdy  type  capable  of  thinking  for  himself,  and 
with  plenty  of  initiative,  and  he  will  not  allow  himself  to  l)c 
chloroformed  by  the  pernicious  doctrines  of  wild  irresi)on- 
sibles." 

"The  people  of  your  country  appear  to  me  to  be  naturally 
a  saving,  frugal  people,"  said  the  visitor.  "They  do  not  seem 
to  spend  all  they  make.  The  only  evidence  I  have  seen  to  the 
contrary  is  in  the  waste  of  alcoliol.  Tlir  homes  of  yoin"  ])eople 
are  well  kept  u]),  there  are  no  excc^sixcl}-  large  hou.ses.  and  the 
j)e(jple  dress  well." 

As  a  sheep  and  cattle  raising  country  .Mr.  Boyce  spoke  i-n- 
ihusiastically  of  .\ew  Zealand  and  its  ])ossil)ilitiLS.      It  \\■a^  tlie 


WELLINGTON  POST  RIU'RIXT 


-'37 


best  in  the  world,  because  of  its  soil,  its  ])lenliful  rainfall,  wliicli 
gave  three  grass-j^rowlhs,  and  its  numerous  stock-watering 
creeks  and  rivers,  in  dry  parts  of  Argentina  and  America  the 
great  problem  was  to  get  water  for  stock.  The  visitor  was 
equally  complimentary  on  other  phases  of  New  Zealand  life, 
upon  the  health  of  the  people,  the  average  age  longevity,  which 
now  showed  the  highest  average  in  the  world,  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  future. 


Highland  cattle,  a  picture   from   Otago  Province,  New  Zealand. 


A  view  of  the  boiling  pool  of   IV-liutu  (jcvsrr. 


CHAPTER  I 

EARLY    HISTORY    AND    THE    MAORIS 

IT  HAS  been  said  that  in  the  two  islands  of  New  Zealand 
can  be  found  anything  found  elsewhere  in  the  world.  The 
climate  ranges  from  Arctic  coldness  on  the  nnjuniains  to 
tropic  warmth  on  the  coast  of  North  Island.  Volcanoes,  hot 
springs,  geysers,  glaciers — New  Zealand  has  them  all.  Prac- 
tically every  fruit  and  grain  can  he  grown  somewhere  on  its 
varied  soil ;  and  nearly  every  domestic  animal  finds  the  coun- 
try more  to  its  liking  than  the  land  from  which  it  came. 

Ask  almost  any  one  where  New  Zealand  is  and  he  will  tell 
you  that  it  is  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth  somewhere, 
near  Australia,  and  he  guesses  it  is  pretty  hot  there  because 
it's  south  of  the  equator. 

New  Zealand  is  more  than  a  thousand  miles  from  Aus- 
tralia— farther  than  Chicago  is  from  New  York.  The  north 
end  of  the  North  Island  lies  as  far  south  of  the  equator  as 
North  Carolina  does  north  of  it,  and  the  South  Island  lies  as 
far  south  of  the  equator  as  Maine  is  north  of  it.  Nor  are  they 
the  tiny  specks  on  the  ocean  that  they  seem  to  be  when  we 
look  at  a  map  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  North  Island,  with  an 
area  of  44,648  square  miles,  is  practically  the  same  size  as 
Pennsylvania,    while    South    Island,    58.525    square    miles,    is 


A  Maori  war  canoe. 
239 


240  NEJJ'  ZEALAND 

larger  than  Illinois.  The  combined  area  of  these  two  and 
smaller  islands  in  the  group  is  104.751  square  miles,  which  is 
greater  than  the  area  of  the  seventh  largest  state  in  the  Union. 
Colorado. 

As  in  Australia,  the  dominating  race  is  British,  the  native 
Maori  population  being  only  50,000  out  of  a  total  population 
of  1,250,000.  Yet  the  Maoris  (pronounced  Mowries),  as  the 
natives  are  called,  are  still  to  be  reckoned  with.  In  fact  I 
found  them  as  interesting  as  the  scenic  wonders  of  which 
New  Zealand  justly  boasts. 

It  was  at  Rotorua,  the  "Yellowstone  Park  of  New  Zea- 
land,"' or  rather  at  Whakarewarewa — called  "Whaka"  for  short 
— two  miles  from  Rotorua,  that  I  had  the  chance  to  study  the 
Arawa  tribe,  the  largest  and  most  interesting  of  the  twenty 
Maori  tribes  now  in  existence.  Nowhere  in  the  world  have  I 
found  another  people  just  like  these,  nor  any  so  quaintly  primi- 
tive. 

Where  the  Maori  came  from  originally,  no  man  knows. 
They  themselves  have  a  legend  that  tells  of  a  great  tribe  cen- 
turies ago  which,  weary  of  continual  battling  and  inspired  by 
the  dream  of  a  medicine  man,  set  out  in  a  fleet  of  war  canoes, 
and  after  many  weeks  of  alternately  being  driven  by  tropic 
storms  and  ])atient  rowing  thru  becalmed  seas,  landed  on  the 
coast  of  North  island.  There  they  found  a  veritable  paradise 
and  uninlial)itc(l. 

But  ihe  ])lace  from  which  they  came  has  never  been  lo- 
cated defmitely.  Learned  scientists  have  found  what  they  con- 
sider am])le  jjroof  that  the  Maoris  came  frt)m  Hawaii.  (  )thers 
pick  out  Tahiti  or  Tonga  as  the  original  home,  while  e(|ually 
learned  men  claim  to  have  discovered  in  the  United  States 
carvings  and  ukiisils  wbich  iiulic-ate  tbat  at  some  far-distant 
time  the  Maoris  roamed  the  North  American  continent.  lUit 
it  seems  certain  that  they  are  Polynesians  in  every  way  and 
are  related  l)y  blood,  however  far  back,  to  the  natives  of 
some  of  the  South  .Sea  Islands. 

"J'he  Maori  of  today  is  able  to  trace  back  his  family  line  for 
many  generations,  some  oi  them  being  able  to  repeat  parrot- 


Mr.  Boyce  standing  in  the  entrance  to  one  of  the  "pas,"  which  were 
the  forts  of  the  Maoris  in  war.  The  gates  were  barely  wide  enough  to 
admit  one  person  at  a  time  and  were  ornamented  with  typical  Maori 
wood  carvings.  In  carving,  the  Maori  would  start  at  one  corner  of  the 
timber  and  cut  out  the  figure  in  detail  as  he  went  along.  He  laid  out 
no  design  other  than  in  his  mind,  yet  when  the  work  was  completed  both 
sides  were  found  to  be  as  nearly  identical  as  if  they  had  been  planned 
with  calipers. 


242  NEJV  ZEALAND 

like  the  names  of  their  ancestors  for  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty 
generations.  But  when  it  comes  to  concrete  facts  as  to  their 
history  and  origin  before  the  white  man  (paheka)  came,  they 
are  dumb.  A  study  of  their  legends  gives  one  a  large  collec- 
tion of  fanciful  tales  of  impossible  happenings  which  cannot 
be  linked  with  any  other  known  facts  of  other  peoples. 

Certainly  the  old-time  Maoris  never  handed  down  to  their 
sons  the  record  of  the  tribes  of  hundreds  of  years  ago,  while 
the  shortness  of  their  memories  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact 
that  when  Captain  Cook  visited  them  in  1769  the  Maoris  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
years  before  Abel  Tasman  had  been  there  and  had  had  a 
battle  with  them  because  of  his  inability  to  understand  that 
they  were  peaceable. 

Badly  frightened  as  the  natives  had  been  by  the  appear- 
ance of  these  strange  white  men  and  their  great  ships,  their 
chief  sent  a  herald  to  announce  that  he  would  visit  the 
strangers  aboard  their  ships.  But  when  the  chief  set  out  from 
shore  with  several  canoes  of  warriors,  Tasman  sent  a  boat  to 
warn  his  second  ship  against  treachery.  The  boat  collided 
with  one  of  the  canoes  and  at  once  the  Maoris,  thinking  they 
were  attacked,  began  to  fight,  killing  four  sailors.  Tasman 
at  once  fired  a  broadside  into  the  canoes  and  then  left. 

Tasman's  account  of  what  little  he  saw  of  the  Maoris, 
altlio  lie  did  not  set  foot  ashore,  described  them  as  so  blood- 
thirsty and  warlike  that  the  islands  were  shunned  by  white 
adventurers  for  more  than  a  centiu-y.  When  Captain  Cook 
came  he  was  not  so  easily  daunted  as  Tasman  had  been,  and. 
in  spite  <»f  the  unfriendliness  lliat  the  natives  at  first  showed 
toward  him.  he  remained  fcjr  six  montlis,  sailing  around  the 
islands,  lie  was  ne\er  able  to  go  far  inland  because  of  the 
constant  wars  between  llic  xarious  .Maori  tribes,  but  from 
those  tribes  with  which  he  canie  in  contact  we  get  the  lirsl 
authentic  record  of  this  interesting  ])eople. 

The  Maori  of  old  belonged  to  ,1  straight-limbed,  haughty 
and  warlike  brownish  colored  race.  Altho  ;ill  of  them  sprang 
from  the  same  source  they  never  yielded  to  the  leader^hi])  of 


EARLY  HISTORY 


243 


any  of  their  own  number. 
Tribes  were  formed  by 
close  blood  relationship  and 
each  tribe  was  a  law  unto 
itself.  Today  the  same 
condition  exists.  There  are 
a  score  of  princij^al  tribes, 
each  divided  into  minor 
tribes,  between  which  there 
exists  bad  blood,  instigated 
by  some  outrage  commit- 
ted hundreds  of  years  ago, 
the  cause  being  unknown 
now.  The  old  Maori  was 
fond  of  tribal  meetings,  at 
which  all  questions  affect- 
ing the  tribe  were  dis- 
cussed and  decided,  women 
having  an  equal  voice  with 
men.  The  same  conditions 
are  the  basis  of  tribal  self- 
government  today,  with 
modifications  caused  by  the 
coming  of  the  white  man. 

So  strong  was  the  ill-feeling  between  tribes  that  for  a  time 
the  villages  were  deserted  and  the  tribes  lived  in  a  constant 
state  of  war,  being  always  prepared  for  war  inside  their  "pas," 
or  forts.  Trivial  incidents,  such  as  the  burning  of  a  war  canoe 
by  another  tribe,  led  to  long  and  bitter  warfare.  This  would 
finally  involve  every  tribe  on  the  island.  There  were  occa- 
sional periods  of  peace.  Then  came  the  white  man.  He  rode 
roughshod  over  the  natives,  as  has  always  been  the  case, 
violating  all  their  sacred  traditions.  Finally  this  caused  war 
betw^een  the  wdiites  and  the  natives,  which  terminated  only 
when  enough  natives  had  been  won  over  to  help  the  whites. 
The  Maori    was    shrewd,    fighting    in    his    own    way,    in    his 


Thinking  of  the  old  days.  Surrounded  by 
the  astonishing  civilization  of  today,  this  old 
woman  remembers  when  the  Maori  native  pitted 
his  cunning  and  crude  weapons  against  the 
white  invaders.  The  tattooed  chin  is  in  keep- 
ing with  the  best  Maori  customs. 


244 


NEW  ZEALAND 


own  forests  and  mountains, 
where  the  white  man  was 
not  at  all  at  home. 

The  Maoris  have  a  strain 
of  sporting  blood  in  them. 
This  is  demonstrated  by 
the  story  of  a  battle  of  fifty 
years  ago.  The  white  sol- 
diers had  ceased  firing  and 
the  Maori  chief  sent  out  a 
flag  of  truce  to  inquire  why. 
"Wc  are  out  of  powder  for 
our  guns,"  was  the  reply. 
Obviously  the  game 
couldn't  go  on  if  the  white 
man  had  no  powder,  so  the 
chief  sent  half  of  his  own 
supply  to  the  white  men  in 
order  that  the  battle  might 
be  resumed  on  even  terms. 
It  is  believed  by  those 
who  have  made  the  subject 
one  of  close  study  that  the 
Maoris'  infinite  patience 
was  born  during  those  long 
war  periods  inside  their 
fortresses.  It  was  then 
that  they  develo])ed  the  art 
of  fancy  and  intricate  wood-carving  which  is  the  admiration 
of  visitors  from  all  over  the  world.  Xot  daring  to  go  outside, 
the  men  turned  their  attention  to  carving. 

With  wonderful  skill  and  jjatience  they  carxcd  weapons 
and  ornaments  from  granite  and  the  ironlikc  greenstone,  and 
the  women,  equally  clever,  fashi(jne(l  garments  from  rougli 
flax  and  feathers  fn^n  the  gaudy  cohered  native  birds. 

Where  the  savages  ot'  other  races  painted  their  faces  ior 


fB5^ 

^^m 

^K^^ 

^^H 

^fff^'jj 

^^H 

P^^^^i 

^H 

Ik     n 

^^ 

W\     s 

Wki 

14  \ 

lSIki 

^^H 

*^H 

^BiS^^^Hl 

ifiES^;»»urt*^ 

Here  is  an  old-timer  wlio  has  inany  a  story 
to  tell  of  the  days  when  Alaori  and  Pakeha 
(white  man)  were  fighting  to  sec  who  would 
he  supreme  in  New  Zealand.  Of  the  old-time 
friendly  Xtaoris,  whose  help  in  their  younger 
days  aided  the  white  soldiers  to  put  down  enemy 
natives,  only  a  handful  remains. 


EARLY  HISTORY 


245 


war  with  colored  mud,  the  Maori,  who  had  proved  his  courage 
as  a  warrior,  was  permitted  to  have  tattooed  upon  his  face, 
limbs  and  body  fantastic  designs,  each  with  symbolic  relation  to 
an  event  in  his  own  life  or  that  of  his  ancestors.  The  women 
tattooed  their  lips  and  chin,  giving  the  effect  of  a  beard  growing 
there.     This  custom  still  exists. 

The  Maori  man  was  not  an  adept  at  making  things  which 
had  no  connection  with  war,  for  first  of  all  he  was  a  fighter. 


The  Maori  was  a  famous  wood-carver.  These  carved  door  lintels 
show  the  accuracy  of  his  work  even  though  he  made  his  design  as  he 
worked  rather  than  resorting  to  a  pattern. 


246 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


A  Maori  chief  whose  tattooed  face  tells 
a  story  of  war  and  great  deeds.  Each 
line  has  a  meaning  to  those  who  can  read 
it.  It  is  said  that  a  Maori  chieftain,  who 
went  to  England,  warned  an  artist  who 
was  painting  his  picture  to  be  sure  and 
get  in  all  the  lines,  as  they  were  a  record 
of  his  per-ional  history.  It  was  those  of 
extreme  youth  and  lack  of  courage  who 
did  not  have  tattooed  faces  fifty  years  ago. 


His  fish-hooks  were  big  and 
clumsy,  made  of  shell  with 
barbed  points.  He  did  not 
need  many  gardening  imple- 
ments. There  was  no  big  game, 
hence  no  necessity  for  hunting 
weapons.  It  was  only  after 
Cook  came  that  pigs  were 
known  on  the  island.  The  sun 
was  obscured  at  times  with 
flocks  of  wild  pigeons,  which 
were  trapped  by  ingenious 
methods.  Nature  made  it  easy 
for  the  Maori  man.  There  is 
no  characteristic  pottery  nor 
vessels  of  metal  in  Alaoriland. 
Homes  are  simple  affairs  of 
thatched  straw,  as  there  are  no 
extremes  of  climate  that  re- 
quire more  than  bare  shelter. 

As  a  fighter  the  old-time 
Maori  was  relentless  and  cruel. 
I'nlikc'  our  American  Indian, 
he  was  not  treacherous  nor  ditl 
he  strike  in  the  dark.  When  he 
went  out  to  fight  he  wanted 
full  honor  for  the  killing.  He 
delighted  in  lutrling  insults  at 
the  enemy.  lie  made  faces, 
sticking  out  his  tongue  in  de- 
fiance to  the  enemy  to  come 
and  cut  out  that  tongue,  which 


often  occurred.  No  sym])athy  for  a  wotnided  enemy  or  one 
who  could  not  fight  back  stirred  the  Maori  breast.  It  is  hard 
to  associate  the  childlike,  fun-loving  Maori  of  today  with  the 
cannibal  of  sixty  years  ago.  Not  that  he  ate  his  victims  from 
a  love  of  nesli,  but  because  he  wi.shed  the  full  victory  over  his 


EARLY  HISTORY 


247 


enemy.  Surely  there  could  be  no  greater  victory  than  being 
able  to  eat  the  victim.  Women  were  forbidden  to  eat  human 
flesh  and  would  have  been  ostracized  for  doing  so. 

The  Maoris'  sense  of  humor  was  highly  developed,  and  in 
the  days  when  wars  were  the  common  thing  quite  often  what 
was  intended  as  a  serious  fray  turned  out  to  be  a  farce  because 
of  some  unexpectedly  humorous  twist  given  it.  In  one  in- 
stance a  few  Maori  warriors  had  been  beseiged  in  a  fortress 
by  an  overpowering  force  of  the  enemy.  Seeing  that  it  was 
inevitable  that  they  were  going  to  be  eaten,  the  chief  called 
his  warriors  together,  and,  while  the  enemy  outside  was  in- 
dulging in  a  war  dance,  he  marched  his  little  force  out,  bearing 
aloft  pots  and  kettles  in  which  their  victors  might  cook  them — 
bearing  their  own  coffins,  you  might  say.  Wlien  the  other 
chief  saw  this  his  sense  of  humor  won  out,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes they  were  all  embracing  in  warmest  friendship. 

Two  ancient  customs  of  the  Maori  were  in  their  day  prob- 
ably the  most  effective  means  of  checking  crime  ever  originated 
by  a  primitive  race.  One  was  "muru" — the  plundering  of 
those  who  were  guilty  of  some 
breach  of  tribal  law.  It  is  true 
that  quite  often  the  law  of 
muru  was  taken  advantage  of 
and  a  person  might  be  pillaged 
for  something  that  could  not 
possibly  have  been  his  fault. 
Muru  was  something  like  our 
own  law  of  damages,  except 
that  the  ones  who  felt  them- 
selves oft'ended — it  might  be  a 
whole  tribe — fixed  the  amount 
to  be  paid  and  then  did  their 
own  collecting. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  a  thj,  picture  of  a  dried  tattooed  head  of 

man    had   accidentally   killed   a      a    Maori   chief   shows   how   far   the   old- 
,  .  11.         time  natives  went  with  this  form  of  facial 

boy.      As    soon    as    the    boy  s      adornment. 


1 

Ik  1 

/  ^'  '^^^^^^M 

m 

Jm^^^ 

¥ 

^SHBtl 

a 

kL^^^tsl^stsB^M^^^^ 

m  : 

248 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


relatives  learned  of  it  they  would 
march  in  a  body  to  the  home  of 
the  offender.  One  of  their  num- 
ber would  announce  his  intention 
of  killing  the  man,  and  the  two 
would  engage  in  a  battle  to  all  ap- 
pearances most  deadly  in  charac- 
ter. The  first  scratch,  however, 
would  be  sufficient  to  end  the  duel, 
and  then  the  mob  would  ransack 
the  house  of  their  victim  and  cart 
away  everything  he  owned.  At 
tlie  same  time  they  would  help 
iliemselves  to  food  which  he,  hav- 
ing been  warned  in  advance  of 
their  coming,  would  have  ready — 
while  he  sat  quietly  by  and  chatted 
with  the  avengers. 

The  second  law,  or  custom,  was 
that  of  "tapu."  To  have  a  thing 
tapu  was  to  have  a  spell  cast  over 
it  which  made  it  sacred  and  re- 
served to  certain  uses  or  certain 
persons.  Thus  a  chief,  his  family  and  belongings,  were  tapu. 
Certain  places  were  tapu;  certain  foods  were  tapu — or  ta])u 
to  certain  persons;  certain  animals  were  tapu  and  might  not 
be  molested.  So  strong  was  the  native  belief  that  harm  would 
befall  those  who  violated  tajju  that  cases  have  been  known 
where  a  Maori,  tho  in  perfect  health  wlicn  he  ate  food  that 
was  tapu,  would  die  in  great  agony  a  few  hours  after  learning 
of  his  offense. 

Maoris  of  today  arc  living  under  the  terms  of  the  Treaty 
of  W'aitangi,  signed  on  February  6,  1840,  when  the  Maoris  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  (ircat  iiritain  and  in  rclurn  were 
promised  protection  and  full  possession  of  their  lands.  This 
treaty,  however,  has  been  modified  in  various  ways.  I  he  land 
c(nirt  cfjnsists  oi  one  white  judge  and   two  native  assistants; 


Susan,  the  Maori  who  guided  us  at  Ro- 
torua  and  made  friends  of  every  one  in 
the  party.  She  speaks  English  well  and 
is  as  gracious  as  a  society  leader.  Like 
her  white  sisters,  Susan  declines  to  re- 
veal her  age,  but  admits  she  is  a  grand- 
mother. In  her  youth  she  must  have 
been  a  beauty. 


EARLY  HISTORY 


249 


the  court  is  seldom  called 
in  when  one  native  wishes 
to  sell  to  another,  but  when 
he  sells  to  .a  white  man 
there  are  many  tangles  to 
straighten  out.  Often  as 
many  as  twenty  claimants 
appear  for  a  single  acre  of 
land.  I  learned  of  one  tract 
of  eleven  thousand  acres 
that  was  claimed  by  2,486 
Maoris ;  the  court  was  a 
year  in  settling  the  case. 

The  Maoris  still  own 
about  4,000,000  acres  of 
first-class  land  out  of  the 
66,000,000  in  New  Zealand. 
Unfortunately,  when  a  na- 
tive parts  with  his  land  the 
money  is  paid  directly  to 
him  and  he  soon  spends  it. 
Government  regulations, 
however,  provide  that  the 
Maoris  cannot  sell  their 
lands  below  the  point  where 
they  retain  an  average  of 
fifty  acres  each. 

Altho  they  have  taken  on 
civilization  better  than  any 
other  savage  race  I  know, 
and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
they  have  adopted  most  of 

the  white  man's  good  things  without  succumbing  to  his  vices 
— with  the  exception  of  drink — less  than  50,000  Alaoris  re- 
main in  New  Zealand  of  the  half  million  that  Captain  Cook 
estimated  as  being  there  when  he  made  his  investigations. 
All  but   100,000  of  these  perished,  it  is  true,  in  an  epidemic 


PP'"^  1 

H 

iM 

1  'i 

1 

1 

bl 

j^^Bil 

hIHIHk'I 

V IHHHKI 

« '"■^Bim^H 

1            ^^  pppi* 

A  modern   Maori   belle. 


These  graceful  Maori  maidens  are  doii\s:  the  "poi"  dance,  which  takes 
its  name  from  the  little  !)al!s  made  of  flax  co\rred  with  the  inner  bark 
of  cocoanut  and  which  are  swung  in  rliythmic  movements  during  the 
dance.  There  are  many  movements  in  the  poi  dance,  eacii  representing 
a  definite  thing,  such  as  a  fluttering  butterfly,  tlie  rowing  of  a  canoe, 
a  soaring  bird,  and  so  on. 


EARLY  HISTORY  251 

resulting  from  the  eating  of  some  sick  sailors  from  a  wrecked 
ship.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  decline  of  the  race 
has  now  been  checked  and  that  a  steady  increase  may  be 
expected.  In  the  last  few  years  the  birth  rate  has  crept 
slightly  above  the  death  rate,  but  a  lot  of  it  is  white  blood. 

Were  the  curse  of  drink  eliminated  the  Maori  probably 
would  hold  his  own.  As  it  is,  the  men  are  not  permitted  to 
have  drinks  served  to  them  over  the  bar  but  can  buy  a  bottle. 
The  women,  supposedly,  cannot  have  a  drink  at  all,  but  the 
"scallawag,"  as  New  Zealand  bootleggers  are  called,  is  ever  at 
work,  and  for  a  few  dollars  will  sell  to  the  natives  a  vile  con- 
coction almost  as  terrible  in  its  effects  as  wood  alcohol. 

It  was  Susan,  venerable  grandmother  who  bears  her  years 
well  and  is  immensely  proud  of  the  fact  that  her  three  sons 
fought  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain  in  the  late  war,  who  piloted 
us  around  and  explained  what  we  saw  at  Whaka.  She  was 
clad  in  a  calico  dress,  a  linen  duster  and  a  wide-brimmed  white 
hat.  Years  of  guiding  strangers  from  far  lands  has  given 
Susan  a  polish  and  a  speech  that  would  grace  a  ballroom. 

It  was  early  the  morning  after  our  arrival  that  Susan, 
having  been  hired  the  night  before,  telephoned  us  that  the 
geysers  at  the  village  of  Whaka  were  staging  one  of  their 
infrequent  displays  and  insisted  that  we  hurry  out  before  they 
quit.  I  tried  my  best  to  be  enthusiastic  over  the  column  of 
boiling  water,  but  it  was  shooting  only  fifty  feet,  less  than 
half  the  height  of  the  geysers  in  Yellowstone  Park.  I  saw 
one  old  dame  standing  with  her  feet  in  the  edge  of  a  little 
stream  of  running  water  from  one  of  the  hot  springs,  beating 
her  day's  washing  with  a  flat  paddle.  I  stuck  one  finger  in 
the  water  and  found  it  unbearably  hot,  but  the  old  woman 
apparently  did  not  mind  it.  In  nearby  concrete  pools  some 
boys  were  taking  an  "oil"  bath  in  water  that  was  quite  warm 
and  soapy  to  the  touch. 

Near  the  village  stands  an  ancient  "pa,"  or  fortress.  Its 
sides  are  made  of  stout  sticks  lashed  together  and  coming 
together  at  the  top  in  sharp  points  which  made  it  difficult  to 
scale.     At  intervals  poles  stand  up  above  the  barricade,  topped 


^\■s,  the  M.'Kiri  lias  liis  jazz  (lanrc.  i  Ir  calls  it  the  "haka."  It  is 
an  ancient  'ianci-,  uliicli  preceded  battles  of  C(insi'(|uence,  and  was  used 
ffir  i)hysical  development,  as  it  calls  into  play  virtually  every  muscle  of 
the  body.  Stam])inj;  of  the  feet,  stickinj;  out  the  tonpue,  and  grimaces 
calculated  to  frighten  the  enemy  were  features  of  this  dance.  In  the 
lower  picture  the  women  arc  putting  on  a  burlesque  haka. 


EARLY  HISTORY  253 

with  carved  figures  of  human  beings  with  gargoyle  faces, 
which  the  simple  Maori  believed  would  frighten  his  foes.  In 
olden  days  no  doubt  the  gargoyles  were  replaced  by  human 
heads. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  see  here,  with  the  "pa"  as  a  back- 
ground, some  of  the  native  dances,  both  of  war  and  of  peace, 
which  are  so  infrequent  now  that  many  of  the  tribes  have 
abandoned  them  altogether.  As  the  dancers  approached,  it  did 
not  require  much  imagination  to  believe  that  time  had  slipped 
back  a  few  decades  and  that  these  gayly  garbed  folk  were  the 
savages  of  their  forefathers'  day. 

The  men  started  off  with  a  "haka,"  a  dance  that  was  both 
a  war  challenge  and  a  ceremonial  affair.  Weird  chantings 
accompanied  the  movements  of  the  body  and  the  stamping  of 
feet.  Almost  every  muscle  of  the  body  was  brought  into  play, 
including  those  of  the  face.  Horrible  grimaces  and  the  stick- 
ing out  of  the  tongue  seem  inseparable  from  a  Maori  war 
dance. 

In  direct  contrast  to  their  display  of  strength  and  bulk 
were  the  "poi"  dances  staged  by  the  girls.  Here  graceful 
movements  of  the  limbs  and  body  keep  time  to  the  haunting 
melody  of  a  chant  in  a  minor  key,  while  two  poi  balls  are 
tossed  in  perfect  rhythm.  These  poi  balls  are  made  of  flax, 
covered  with  the  inner  bark  of  the  cocoanut  tree.  They  are 
about  the  size  of  an  orange  and  are  held  in  the  hands  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  string,  usually  one  long  one  and  one 
short  one. 

Every  poi  dance  has  its  peculiar  movements  meant  to  rep- 
resent something,  as  the  fluttering  of  butterflies,  the  flight  of 
birds.  In  one,  called  the  canoe  dance,  the  girls  sat  down  and 
in  perfect  time  pretended  that  they  were  rowing  one  of  the 
old-time  war  canoes. 

I  saw  the  ceremonial  with  which  visitors  are  received. 
Altho  well  aware  that  company  was  coming,  the  family  sat 
in  front  of  their  home  until  the  visitors  arrived.  Then  they 
intoned  a  chant,  waved  aloft  green  sprays  in  token  that  friend- 
ship  would   never   wither,   then   solemnly   rubbed   noses   with 


254 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


each  visitor  in  turn,  while  at  the  same  time  they  clasped  hands. 
Quite  often  I  have  heard  a  man  in  the  United  States  say 
he  was  glad  he  had  not  married  his  wife's  family.  A  Maori 
canrpot  say  that,  for  that  is  just  what  he  does.  His  wife's 
relatives   are   at   all   times   privileged   to   make   themselves   at 


^^^^^^B^' 

^^.^^^^e      '              ''^H^i 

^^^^^P'S^^^^^H" 

Bv             ^.^MB 

^^m^  '  ^t^IH 

^^^I^^^^^^^^H 

\m 

1  JBj^li 

Mr.  Boycc  and  Captain  Mair  (at  risht)  as  spectators  at  a  Maori 
dance  near  Rotorua.  The  Maoris  have  adopted  Captain  Mair  as  tlieir 
parent,  and  he  has  been  their  friend  and  adviser  for  many  years. 


EARLY  HISTORY 


-^00 


home  in  his  house  and  he  is  under  obhgations  to  feed  them. 

Marriage  customs  are  still  primitive,  altho  betrothal  of 
infants  is  now  rare.  There  is  little  courting  as  we  know  it. 
The  family  of  a  boy  or  girl  picks  out  an  cligiljle  mate  and 
makes  overtures  to  the  other  family.  The  pair  can  of  course 
decline  to  marry,  but  where  the  match  is  thought  desirable 
from  a  tribal  standpoint,  as  where  it  will  keep  together  large 
tracts  of  land,  the  whole  Iriljc  masses  to  overcome  the  objec- 
tions. 

The  marriage  ceremony  is  very  simple,  being  merely  a 
statement  that  the  man  and  woman  have  decided  to  live  to- 
gether. In  olden  days  elaborate  rituals  preceded  and  followed 
the  ceremony  itself.  There  was  much  giving  of  presents.  One 
quaint  custom  was  the  picking  out  of  two  mountains,  calling 
one  a  man,  the  other  a  woman,  and  "marrying"  them,  to  indi- 
cate that  the  lands  of  the  contracting  parties  were  being  united. 

No  Maori  man  was  allowed  to  marry  in  the  old  days  until 
he  had  been  thru  the  "red  house,"  where  for  two  or  three 
years  he  underwent  a  rigorous  education  in  the  art  of  warfare, 
genealogy,  astronomy  and  mental  training.  I  had  an  inkling 
of  the  thoroness  of  this  training  when  I  learned  of  an  old 
chief  who  knew  the  words  and  tunes  of  nine  hundred  native 
songs.  It  was  also  a  custom  to  require  that  a  man  should  have 
killed  another  in  a  fight  before  he  could  marry.  Marriage  be- 
tween cousins,  even  second  cousins,  was  forbidden.  Divorce 
was  simple,  being  accomplished  by  merely  separating  and 
announcing  the  intention  to  live  apart. 

A  funeral  is  a  prolonged  affair  of  several  days,  in  which 
the  mourners  gather  about  the  home  of  the  deceased,  whose 
family  must  feed  them.  The  mourners  bring  to  the  funeral 
all  the  gifts  given  ihem  by  the  departed  one  during  his  lifetime, 
carefully  wrapping  them  in  mats  to  show  they  have  been  treas- 
ured, and  piling  them  about  the  body.  Later  the  relatives 
return  them  to  the  owners,  after  which  the  gifts  are  theirs  to 
do  with  as  they  please.  Giving  away  a  present  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  donor  is  unheard  of. 

Nearly  10,000  Maoris  attend  the  native  and  public  schools. 


256  NEJV  ZEALAND 

There  are  119  public  and  12  private  schools  for  Maori  chil- 
dren. Lessons  are  given  in  English,  the  Maori  language  not 
being  taught  in  the  schools.  In  some  of  the  schools  trades 
and  farming  are  taught.  The  natives  take  easily  to  education ; 
especially  is  this  true  of  the  children.  They  talk  well,  spell 
rapidly  and  correctly,  and.  in  general,  are  quick  to  learn. 

That  the  Alaoris  are  an  intelligent  people  is  quite  evident 
from  the  success  of  many  of  them.  They  are  quite  proud  of 
the  fact  that  they  are  represented  by  four  elective  members  of 
the  Dominion  House  of  Representatives  and  two  appointive 
members  of  the  Legislative  Council,  which  corresponds  to  our 
Senate.  Several  of  the  race  have  risen  to  high  positions.  One, 
Sir  James  Carroll,  has  been  knighted  and  made  a  member  of 
the  Dominion  cabinet. 

They  are  well  represented  among  the  professions  and  sev- 
eral have  become  millionaires  in  agricultural  pursuits.  How 
far  the  new  generation  will  go,  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  imbued  with  the  high  ideals  of  the  white  man,  is  hard 
to  forecast.     They  show  no  trace  of  negro  blood. 

No  resume  of  Maori  history  would  be  complete  without 
reference  to  Captain  Gilbert  Alair  of  Rotorua.  Born  in  New 
Zealand,  he  has  spent  sixty  of  his  eighty-one  years  with  the 
natives,  and  probably  knows  them  better  than  any  living  man. 
Captain  ]\iair  was  a  .soldier  in  the  wars  which  ended  in  1874, 
and  commanded  a  contingent  of  500  friendly  Maoris  in  the 
chase  after  old  Te  Kooti,  most  notorious  of  all  the  rebel 
chiefs.  The  chase  became  so  hot  that  Te  Kooti's  forces  dis- 
persed, and  in  tlic  days  of  j^eacc  which  followed,  Captain  Mair 
held  many  ofhcial  positions  in  which  he  was  constantly  in 
touch  with  the  natives.  He  was  judge  of  the  native  land 
court  at  Rotorua  and  his  handling  of  that  ofiice.  as  nuich  as 
anything  else,  won  for  him  the  confidence  of  the  Maoris.  He 
is  an  adopted  chief  f)f  the  Maoris,  their  confidant  and  "parent," 
as  they  call  him,  and  has  a  tremendous  influence  with  ilieni. 

I   had  a  most   enjoyable  visit  with  Captain   .Maii-,  and  was, 


EARLY  HISTORY 


-:>/ 


of  course,  much  interested  in  his  estimation  of  the  present-day 
native. 

"The  outstanding-  traits  of  my  old  friends  have  mostly  been 
lost."  said  Captain  Mair.  "The  white  man  introduced  alcohol 
to  the  Maori,  and,  even  today,  tourists  delight  in  supplying 
drink  to  the  natives  in  the  hope  that  while  they  are  drunk  they 
will  give  a  better  'show' 
than  they  otherwise  would. 
The  $250  fine  provided  has 
not  stopped  this  practice. 
The  Maoris  are,  however, 
a  trusting,  lovable  people. 
"The  modern  native  is 
developing  one  tendency 
which  I  regret.  He  is  los- 
ing his  ability  to  tell  the 
truth.  The  old  Maori 
would  not  lie  to  you.  Even 
today,  if  you  drive  him 
into  a  corner,  the  Maori 
will  admit  that  he  has  been 
lying  and  will  tell  you  the 
facts ;  his  conscience  seems 
to  hurt  him,  and,  at  best, 
he  is  a  blundering  liar  and 
his  delinquency  is  easily 
detected." 

Captain  Mair  is  disposed  to  the  belief  that  the  original 
Maoris  came  from  India,  gradually  drifting  into  the  Pacific, 
and  that  other  Polynesian  races  are  merely  ofifshoots  from 
the  main  body  which  came  to  New  Zealand.  He  points  out 
that  the  old  Maori  excelled  in  the  water,  that  he  was  a  sailor 
and  not  a  landsman  and  that,  of  all  savage  races,  the  Maori 
of  old  best  understood  navigation  and  could  guide  his  canoe 
by  the  sun  and  stars.  Only  such  people  could  have  made  safely 
the  rough  voyage  of  many  months  to  New  Zealand,  in  frail 
outrigged  canoes,  as  did  the  original  settlers. 


This  is  Wihi,  the  belle  of  Waka.  She  is 
seventeen  and  has  a  wonderful  smile.  Wihi 
says  that  the  name  in  English  would  be 
"Fraidy  Cat,"  but  she  doesn't  think  it  fits.  She 
is  a  skillful  "poi"  dancer. 


A  road  in  tlic  "back-block"  bush  of  New  Zealand. 


CHAPTER  II 


NATURAL    HISTORY — WILD   GAME   AND   SPORTS 

THAT  lucky  person  who  has  seen  the  wonders  of  New  Zea- 
land need  not  travel  over  the  world  to  see  others,  better 
known  tho  they  may  be.     It  seems  as  if  some  mighty  hand 
had  gathered  up  a  few  each  of  all  the  wonders  of  the  world 
and    let    them    drop    upon    these    two 
islands  which  make  up  New  Zealand. 
Here  you  can  see  snow-capped  moun- 
tains   comparing    favorably    with    the 
scenic  grandeur  of  the  Alps,  deep  blue 
fiords,  boiling  springs,   rumbling  vol- 
canoes, magnificent   rivers  and  dense 
forests. 

But  it  is  the  thermal  springs  district 
that  attracts  most  attention  among 
travelers.  There  are  hot  springs  and 
similar  attractions  in  other  parts  of 
the  world,  but  nowhere  in  so  limited 
a  space  is  there  quite  such  an  assort- 
ment of  weird  things.  Fire  and  steam- 
ing lakes,  pools  and  streams,  deadly 
gases  from  craters,  spots  unbearably 
hot  in  pools  that  are  otherwise  icy 
cold,  boiling  mud  and  geysers,  caves 
and  grottoes.  Over  them  all  liangs 
the  smell  of  sulphur,  tossed  here  and 
there  by  vagrant  winds,  but  following 
wherever  you  go.  until  you  are  glad 
to  get  away.  The  Maoris  still  cook 
food  in  the  boiling  springs  as  did  their 
forefathers. 

The    story    of    how    the    mountain         This   Maori  girl   is  going  to  a 
„  1     •       T  na^      ■         boiling   water   spring   to  cook  din- 

larawera   erupted    m   June,    ibbo,   is      ^ler. 


259 


26o  NEIV  ZEALAND 

an  interesting  one.  For  several  days  before  the  eruption 
there  had  been  considerable  grumbling  and  growling,  but 
neither  the  whites  nor  Maoris  were  alarmed.  Six  months 
before  there  had  been  many  changes  in  the  volcanic  region. 
Geysers  which  had  been  spouting  for  years  suddenly  stopped. 
Thousands  of  fish  were  cast  up  on  beaches,  much  as  if  they 
had  been  poisoned.  The  crater  lake  in  White  Island  went  dry. 
Then  steam  began  issuing  from  the  top  of  Ruapehu,  a  dead 
volcano.  Tarawera  is  the  Maori  name  for  Burning  Peak, 
but  there  was  no  tradition  of  any  eruptions  ever  having  taken 
place.  In  fact,  the  ^Maoris  had  so  much  confidence  in  old 
Tarawera  that  they  once  buried  a  famous  chief  there  and  be- 
lieved that  Nature  would  never  disturb  his  grave.  But  one 
night  shortly  after  midnight  there  were  several  quakes  which 
were  followed  by  roaring,  booming  noises.  The  natives  took 
to  their  heels.  Suddenly  a  huge  cloud  burst  from  the  crater  of 
Tarawera  and  a  shower  of  stones  and  dust  and  fire  spurted 
forth.  The  explosions  were  heard  five  hundred  miles  away. 
An  electric  storm  burst  forth  at  the  same  time,  all  resulting  in 
a  magnificent  yet  terrifying  spectacle.  Then  over  all  settled 
a  darkness  that  lasted  many  hours. 

At  the  same  time  occurred  the  explosion  of  Lake  Roto- 
moana.  There  is  a  well-founded  theory  that  the  waters  of 
the  lake  broke  thru  an  underground  channel  into  the  red-hot 
interior  of  Tarawera  and  caused  the  explosion.  This  eruption 
wiped  out  the  beautiful  Pink  and  White  Terraces,  vividly 
colored  ledges  over  which  hot  water  trickled  into  a  basin 
below.  Today,  almost  thirty-five  years  later,  there  is  still  a 
feeling  of  desolation  in  tlic  region  which  was  destroyed  by 
Tarawera. 

Around  there  you  find  deep  pools  of  oil  and  fuller's  earih 
bubbling  away.  Rivers  where  the  water  runs  cold  over  burn- 
ing hot  sand,  where  you  can  catch  a  fish  in  one  place  and  a 
short  distance  away  }ou  can  cook  it  in  the  l)oiHng  water. 
just  the  same  as  in  our  own  National  Yellowstone  l\'irk. 
There  are  depressions  in  the  volcanic  rock  that  hurl  out  hand- 
fuls  of  mud  at  frequent  intervals.     ( )ne  mud  geyser  gets  its 


A  view  of  the  geyser  basin  and  Rotorua   J.ake,    irnm   the  mountains  ai 
W'hakarewarewa. 


262 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


name,  Packhorse  Alud  Geyser,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  not  a 
geyser  until  one  day  a  pack  horse  fell  in.  It  was  just  a  bit 
of  still  mud  and  water,  but  it  contained  sulphuric  acid.  Some 
scientists  claim  that  the  fat  in  the  body  of  the  horse  caused 
the  geyser,  just  as  some  of  the  geysers  are  dormant  until  soap 
shavings  are  thrown  into  them.  There  are  several  such  in  the 
Rotorua  district. 

One  of  the  volcanic  w'onders  of  New  Zealand  is  W'hite 
Island,  twenty-seven  miles  from  the  mainland  in  the  Bay  of 
Plenty.  It  has  a  rocky  shore  and  only  when  the  sea  is  very 
calm  can  a  boat  land.  It  is  one  vast  bed  of  sulphur,  steaming 
hot.  The  ground  breaks  treacherously  under  your  feet  and 
eats  the  soles  off  your  shoes  in  a  few  hours,  or  will  burn  thru 


Crater  Lake  and  blow  holes  of  White  Island,  a  quakinpf  mass  of 
rock,  ckiy  and  sulpliur,  Iwcnty-sevcn  miles  off  liie  mainland  of  tiie  North 
Island  in  the  I'ay  of  Plenty.  The  whole  island  is  a  mass  of  soft  sulphur 
thru  which  it  is  easy  to  break  and  which  (|ui'kly  destrdvs  shoes  or 
clothing  which  may  come  in  contact  with  it. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  263 

your  clothes  if  it  touches  them.  Once  White  Island  was 
worked  for  its  sulphur,  but  that  was  given  up.  Besides  White 
Island  there  are  two  other  volcanoes  that  display  activity, 
making  one  think  some  day  they  may  repeat  the  scenes  which 
followed  Tarawera's  outbreak.  They  are  Uuapehu,  9,175  feet 
high,  with  glaciers  on  its  upper  slopes  and  a  hot  crater  lake, 
and  Ngaurehoe,  youngest  of  iheni  all,  from  whose  summit, 
7,575  feet  high,  there  issues  at  all  times  little  clouds  of  steam. 

There  are  many  lakes  in  the  North  Island  which  are  well 
worth  seeing.  There  is  Lake  Taupo,  the  largest  lake  in  New 
Zealand.  It  is  1,200  feet  above  sea  level,  500  feet  deep  and  is 
famous  principally  for  the  excellent  fishing  which  it  afifords. 
Sheer  cliffs  line  the  western  side,  rising  abruptly  to  great 
heights.  In  flood  times  a  great  volume  of  water  pours  over 
these  cliffs,  creating  a  wonderful  waterfall  as  it  cascades  into 
the  lake.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake  there  are  sloping 
sand  beaches  interspersed  with  terraces  of  pumice  covered 
with  trees. 

A  hundred  miles  south  of  Auckland  are  the  Waitomo  Caves, 
something  like  our  Mammoth  Cave  in  Kentucky,  only  not  so 
large.  Here  there  is  one  room  called  Glowworm  Grotto, 
whose  dark  depths  are  lighted  by  thousands  of  glowworms 
on  the  walls  and  ceilings,  which  shed  a  light  by  which  it  is 
possible  to  discern  objects  quite  clearly. 

New  Zealand  has  one  river  that  surpasses  all  others  in 
scenic  beauty.  It  is  the  A\'anganui,  whose  canyon-walled 
waters  fall  500  feet  in  its  length  of  150  miles.  At  intervals 
there  are  rajiids  down  which  the  flat-bottomed  steamer  de- 
scends with  remarkable  ease.  In  spots  the  high  cliff's  give 
way  to  densely  wooded  stretches  that  line  its  banks.  Here  and 
there  are  villages,  bearing  the  familiar  names  of  Jerusalem, 
Damascus,  Athens,  Galatea,  and  so  on,  showing  the  influence 
of  early  missionaries. 

There  is  a  Maori  legend  connected  with  Mount  Egmont,  a 
beautiful  volcanic  cone  which  stands  isolated  on  a  plain  north 
of  the  town  of  Wanganui.  Egmont,  so  the  legend  runs,  fell 
in  love  with  the  wife  of  a  brother  mountain,  but  the  ladv  did 


264 


NEW  ZEALAND 


not  return  his  affection,  and  together  she  and  her  husband 
began  to  belch  forth  stone  and  rock  and  hot  lava  on  the  head 
of  poor  Egmont  until  he  was  glad  to  get  away.  He  ran  and 
ran  until  out  of  reach  of  the  angry  mountains  and  now  rears 
his  head  in  stately  grandeur,  alone,  unloved,  but  greatly  ad- 
mired. 

At  the  south  end  of  the  west  coast  of  the  South  Island 
are  fourteen  sounds,  arms  of  the  sea  stretching  inland  from 
six   to    twenty-two    miles,    of    which    Milford    Sound    is    the 


Pompolona  liut,  from  which  one  hcgiiis  the  journey  over  tlie  Milford 
Track,  New  Zeahind's  most  famous  scenic  trail.  The  government  main- 
tains huts  such  as  shown  in  the  picture  for  the  benefit  of  travelers  who 
undertake  the  twenty-six  miU'  hike  from  Lake  Te  Anau  to  .\Iiltord 
.Sound. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  265 

most  interesting.  All  of  these  sounds  are  deep  hollows  exca- 
vated by  glaciers  in  days  long  gone  by,  their  walls  so  steep 
that  they  are  virtually  unscalable. 

In  the  days  before  the  war  the  government  tourist  bureau 
ran  steamers  into  the  sounds  at  frequent  intervals,  and  the 
service  will  soon  be  resumed,  but  during  my  visit  only  a 
supply  ship  once  a  year  made  the  rounds  of  the  lonely  light- 
houses on  the  rocky  headlands.  So  the  only  way  the  traveler 
can  reach  them  now  is  by  taking  a  coach,  a  steamer  on  Lake 
Manapouri  and  then  walking.  Lake  Manapouri  is  a  beautiful 
body  of  water  which  in  rainy  periods  is  fed  by  great  waterfalls 
from  the  cliffs  surrounding  it.  Beyond  it  lies  Te  Anau,  the 
second  largest  lake  in  the  Dominion,  and  at  its  head  begins 
Milford  Track,  which  New  Zealanders  have  named  "the  most 
beautiful  walk  in  the  world."  It  takes  three  days  to  pass 
thru  the  mountains,  the  valleys  and  forests  to  Milford  Sound, 
but  the  trip,  any  time  between  November  and  April,  when 
the  track  is  free  from  snow,  is  one  succession  of  scenic  beauty. 
Along  the  tracks  are  huts  maintained  by  the  government  for 
the  care  of  travelers,  where  they  may  find  food  and  beds. 

Milford  Sound  is  well  worth  the  toil  involved  in  getting 
there.  It  is  hemmed  in  by  5,000-foot  mountains  around  whose 
heads  the  mists  are  always  playing  and  down  whose  sides 
great  cascades  and  cataracts  tumble  on  their  way  to  the  sound. 
None  of  the  other  sounds  equal  ]\Iilford,  and  only  ten  of  them 
are  visited  very  frequently  by  travelers. 

Stretching  north  from  the  sounds  along  the  western  coast 
are  the  snow-capped  Southern  Alps.  Of  them.  Mount  Cook, 
which  the  Maoris  call  Aorangi,  "the  cloud  piercer,"  is  the 
most  imposing.  For  many  years  the  New  Zealand  Alps  have 
attracted  mountain  climbers  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
partly  because  they  are  not  tourist-infested,  but  chiefly  because 
many  of  the  heights  are  more  difficult  than  the  famous  peaks 
of  the  Old  World. 

They  present  from  their  summits  the  strange  sight  of  sea 
and  forest  on  one  side  and  grassy  plains  on  the  other.  Of  the 
glaciers  in  the  Southern  Alps,  the  most  spectacular  is  Tasman 


266 


XEJV  ZEALAND 


The  Southern  Alps  on  South  Island  are  of  wnnckriu!  maje>ty  and 
beauty.  Hochsetter  Ice  Falls  is  shown  in  the  picture.  It  is  a  frozen 
cataract  coming  down  from  a  great  snow  plateau  9,000  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  fall  is  4,000  feet  and  ends  on  the  Tasman  glacier. 


Glacier,  a  river  of  frozen  snow,  into  which  half  a  dozen  ice 
streams  seem  to  flow.  Its  surface  presents  dangerous  fissures. 
and  avalanches  are  frequent. 

Still  farther  north  are  the  passes  traversed  by  small  steam- 
ers plying  between  the  North  Island  and  the  west  coast  ports 
of  the  South  Island.  For  years  French  Pass  had  a  singular 
claim  to  distinction  because  thru  its  waters  ships  often  were 
piloted  by  "Pelorous  Jack,'*  a  fourteen-foot  dolphin  which  met 
the  ships  and  accompanied  them  thru  the  pass,  diving  and 
l^lunging  around   their   keels.      Parliament   passed   an   act   to 


ir/LD  GAME  267 

protect  him,  Iiut  "Pelorous  jack""  has  disai)pcared.  A  whahng 
steamer  operated  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pass  a  few  years  ago 
and  the  dolphin  never  was  seen  again.  There  were  many 
strange  stories  told  of  him;  the  Maoris  declared  that  he  was 
not  less  than  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  old. 

But  the  things  to  be  seen  in  New  Zealand  are  not  all  inani- 
mate. Just  before  I  left  the  United  States  I  asked  a  friend  of 
mine,  Air.  A.  O.  Kuehmsted,  president  of  a  Wisconsin  fishing 
club,  what  he  knew  about  New  Zealand.  He  replied  that  all 
he  knew  about  it  was  that  his  club  had  sent  out  to  the  Accli- 
matization Society  of  New  Zealand  young  trout  with  which  to 
stock  the  streams  of  the  country. 

When  I  arrived  in  New  Zealand  I  found  that  the  trout  had 
been  received  and  that  they  had  grown  to  several  times  the 
size  they  attain  in  their  native  waters.  I  can  account  for  this 
only  by  the  fact  that  tbere  seldom  are  very  severe  or  long 
winters  and  that  food  for  the  fish  in  the  streams  is  very 
plentiful. 

The  lakes  are  teeming  with  salmon  trout,  rainbow  trout 
and  perch,  and  many  big  catches  are  taken  during  the  season. 
Fishing  generally  is  under  the  control  of  the  Dominion  Depart- 
ment of  Internal  Afifairs,  but  most  of  the  details,  especially 
stocking  the  streams,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  acclimatization  so- 
cieties in  various  sections  of  the  country.  These  societies  also 
bring  in  game  and  birds,  and  New  Zealand  is  becoming  a 
sportsman's  paradise.  The  government  co-operates  by  means 
of  protective  laws  as  well  as  practical  assistance.  A  few  years 
ago  they  built  a  fish  hatchery,  where  much  of  the  experimental 
work  and  study  of  both  native  and  imported  fish  is  done,  with 
a,  view  to  keeping  the  streams  well  supplied  with  food  fish. 

One  of  the  finest  places  in  the  North  Island  from  an 
angler's  point  of  view  is  picturesque  Lake  Taupo.  Here 
hundreds  of  sportsmen  gather  each  year.  It  is  only  a  short 
distance  from  the  Rotorua  hot  springs  district,  so  that  visitors 
to  the  springs  usually  include  the  lake  in  their  trip.  The  lakes 
in  the  South  Island  likewise  are  great  attractions  for  fisher- 
men.    It  is  not  uncommon   for  trout  weighing  from  six  to 


This  is  The  Hermitage,  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Cook,  New  Zea- 
land's liighest  mountain.  The  Hermitage  is  tlie  starting  place  for  those 
who  attempt  to  climb  this  snow-hound  peak.  During  thirty-five  years 
only  sixteen  parties  have  scaled  the  icy  cliffs  to  the  top  of  one  of  the 
three  summits.  So  clear  arc  the  waters  of  the  lake  that  it  is  dilTicult 
to  tell  in  a  picture  which  is  the  building  and  which  the  reflection. 


/fV/J)  GAME 


269 


StCKHM  .»ja>W3!«*«lta 


fifteen  or  even  twenty  pounds  to 
be  caught  in  these  lakes,  and  oc- 
casionally one  weighing  forty 
pounds  is  taken. 

While  fish  are  plentiful,  the  au- 
thorities have  to  contend  with  that 
parasite,  the  poacher,  who  does 
not  hesitate  to  take  the  fish,  altho 
he  has  contributed  nothing  toward 
acclimatizing  them.  There  are 
several  kinds  of  poachers.  The 
"tickler"  is  least  hurtful  to  the 
sport,  because  when  he  takes  a 
fish  from  the  stream  or  lake  he 
does  not  injure  the  other  fish.  His 
way  of  operating  is  simple.  Hav- 
ing located  a  nice  trout  close  to 
the  water's  edge,  the  tickler  slips 
his  hand  into  the  water  and  grad- 
ually works  it  along  beneath  the 
fish  toward  the  head.  Suddenly 
he  sticks  his  thumb  and  first  finger 
into  the  gills  and  throws  the 
fish  ashore.  There  must  be 
plenty  of  fish  when  you  can  catch  them  this  way.  The  seiner, 
called  a  "netter,"  in  New  Zealand,  is  also  a  law-breaker. 

The  most  hated  of  all  poachers,  however,  is  the  dynamiter. 
He  uses  plugs  of  gelignite,  throwing  them  into  pools  where 
big  numbers  of  fish  are  congregated.  The  explosion  frequently 
kills  and  mangles  a  great  number  of  fish  and  the  dynamiter 
gets  only  a  few  good  ones.  This  kind  of  poacher,  when 
caught,  is  severely  dealt  with  by  law. 

There  is  a  fairly  wide  range  of  feathered  game  in  New 
Zealand,  but  the  only  kind  that  can  truthfully  be  said  to  have 
been  there  always  is  the  wild  pigeon.  While  in  South  America 
I  tried  to  locate  the  wild  pigeon,  now  extinct  in  the  United 
States  and   Canada,  altho  not  so  many  years  ago  they   fre- 


They  catch  them  this  size  in  Lake  Taui^o. 


270 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


a^-,^*^^(*- 


The  rapidly  flowing  rivers  of  New  Zealand  offer  the  fisherman  ideal  sport. 

quently  obscured  the  sun  in  their  flight  across  the  sky.  I 
found  none  in  South  America,  nor  any  other  place  until  I  came 
to  New  Zealand.  This  is  not,  however,  the  same  bird  we 
knew  in  the  United  States. 

Wild  pigeons  were  once  found  in  New  Zealand  by  the 
millions  and  grew  to  weigh  more  than  two  pounds.  The  na- 
tives used  to  net  them  by  thousands  and  fry  them  down  in  their 
own  fat ;  thus  i)repared  they  would  keep  for  a  long  time.  They 
also  caught  them  by  building  smudge  tires  under  the  trees 
where  they  were  roosting,  gathering  them  up  when  they 
dropped  to  the  ground,  half  smothered.  The  New  Zealand 
wild  pigeon  has  a  beautiful  white  breast  and  green-blue  feath- 
ers from  the  neck  and  head  along  the  back  to  the  tail  and 
top  of  the  wings.  The  birds  are  most  plentiful  in  the  heavy 
bush  districts  and  rarely  to  be  seen  in  populated  centers.  They 
feed  on  wild  berries,  principally,  the  mirau,  a  reddish  berry 
about  the  size  of  a  wild  cherry,  being  the  favorite.  The  mirau 
tree  is  of  the  pine  species  and  carries  a  fairly  heavy  foliage. 
The  wild  i)igeon  is  now  ])rotecte(l  by  an  act  of  parliament,  and 


IVILD  GAME 


271 


in  order  that  it  shall  not  become  extinct,  the  shooting  season 
for  it  is  limited  to  three  months  every  alternate  year,  begin- 
ning May  first. 

In    connection    with    sheep-raising    in    Otago    Province    I 
learned  the  story  of  a  bird,  the  kea  parrot,  which  in  the  last 
quarter   of   a   century   has   undergone   a   most   extraordinary 
change  in   its  habits.     Originally  the  kea  was  just  one  of  a 
family  of  parrots  that  ate  insects,  honey  and  wild  fruits.     But 
with  the  multiplying  of  sheep  the  kea  turned  into  a  blood- 
thirsty   sheep-killer,    whose    depredations    ravaged    flocks    far 
and  wide.  Today,  these  birds 
are  eagerly  hunted   for  the 
bounty  placed  on  them.  How 
the  kea  became  a  killer  is  not 
definitely    known,    but    it    is 
believed  to  have  acquired  the 
taste  for  meat  during  one  of 
the  seasons  when  sheep  were 
so   plentiful  that  they  were 
killed  for  their  hides,  which 
were     stretched     upon     the 
fences  to  dry.     From  peck- 
ing at  the  bits  of  fat  which 
clung  to  these  hides  the  kea 
became  bolder  and  attacked 
live    sheep.     Their    favorite 
food  is  the  fat  surrounding 
the   kidneys,  and  they   land 
upon  the  back  of  an  animal 
and  with  their  sharp  beaks 
peck  thru  the  hide  into  the 
kidneys.     Few  animals  sur- 
vive such  an  attack. 

To  me  the  most  interest-  .  ,    ,  . 

.  This     is     the     kea     parrot,     innocent-looking 

mg   thing   m   the    museum    1  enough,   but  a   formidable   enemv  of   the  sheep 

visited   was   the   replica   of   a  '"dustry.     Because  of  its  sheep-killing  habits  the 

'■  government  pays  a  bounty  lor  each  kea  parrot 

moa,    the   largest   bird   ever  that  is  killed. 


-L-/Z 


NEW  ZEALAND 


known  to  man,  which  became  extinct  hundreds  of  years  ago. 
probably  soon  after  the  Maoris  first  came  to  the  country.  Some 
scientists  hold  to  the  theory  that  the  moa  was  gone  before  the 
Maoris  landed,  but  the  fact  that  bones  of  the  giant  bird  have 
been  found  in  caves  along  with  cooking  utensils  and  other 
articles,  indicates  that  the  Maori  wiped  out  the  moa  by  killing 
them  to  obtain  feathers  for  decorating  purposes. 

There  were  several  species  of  moa,  ranging  from  the 
size  of  a  turkey  to  a  dozen  feet  in  height,  with  leg  bones 
like  those  of  an  elephant.  The  moa  looked  like  an  os- 
trich or  an  emu,  but  had  no  wings,  and  stood  up  very 
straight  when  in  motion,  presenting  an  awe-inspiring 
sight.  Feathers  of 
the  moa  have  been 
found  in  quantities 
in  both  the  North 
and  South  Islands  of 
New  Zealand,  and 
are  more  like  the 
feathers  of  the  emu 
than  any  other  bird. 
Apparently  the  birds 
thrived  in  the  South 
Island  long  after 
they  had  disap- 
peared from  the 
North  Island  —  an- 
f,)thcr  bit  of  evidence 
in  support  of  the 
theory  that  the 
Maoris  killed  ofif  the 
moa,  for  the  Maoris 
have  always  lived 
mostly  in  the  North 
Island. 

The   native   (|uai', 
a    liluinp    lillle    gray    Tlic  prehistoric  moa,  the  largest  bird  ever  known  to  man. 


JJ7LD  GAME 


273 


bird,  the  swamp  hen,  or  "i)ukaki,"  to  give  it  the  native  title,  the 
black  swan  and  the  gray  duck  comi)letc  the  list  of  native  feath- 
ered game,  but  they  are  only  a  small  part  of  the  game  birds 
which  have  been  acclimatized  here  for  sporting  purposes.  So 
far  as  water  birds  are  concerned,  there  are  teal  ducks,  paradise 
ducks,  blue  mountain  ducks  and  three  or  four  varieties  of 
geese,  including  the  Canadian  and  cafe  geese.  Then  there  are 
certain  breeds  of  wild  turkeys  that  are  holding  their  own. 

Probal)ly  the  most  graceful  of  all  New  Zealand  birds  is 
the  lordly  pheasant  with  his  gay  plumage,  by  comparison  with 
which  his  mate,  the  pheasant  hen.  pales  into  insignificance. 
The   pheasant   is   confined   chiefly   to   the    North    Island,   this 

doubtless  being 


due      to 

the 

fact     that 

it     is 

warmer 

there. 

They    are 

fairly 

numerous 

and 

may     b  e 

found 

close    to 

farm- 

houses,  but  thrive 
best  where  they 
are  least  dis- 
turbed. During 
the  shooting  sea- 
son m  a  n  }'  fine 
bags  of  these 
birds  are  obtained 
and  they  are  con- 
sidered a  great 
delicacy. 

The  California 
quail  has  made 
great  progress  in 
New  Zealand ;  it 
i  s  distinguished 
/    moa  skeleton  towering  above  the  skeleton  of  a  man.     from     the     native 


274 


NEIV  ZEALAND 


quail  by  a  top-knot.    They  are  prolific  breeders  and  as  a  result 
quail  shooting  has  become  a  popular  sport  in  New  Zealand. 

Deer  are  to  be  found  by  the  thousands.  These  animals 
are  of  course  importations,  because  the  IMaoris  found  no  four- 
footed  game  when  they  came  to  the  islands.  In  the  deer- 
stalking season  people  come  from  England,  the  Continent  and 
Australia  for  the  sport.  Of  course  the  extent  of  a  stalker's 
sport  usually  is  indicated  by  the  number  of  heads.  The  more 
"points"  on  the  head,  the  better.  A  story  is  related  of  an 
ardent  deer  stalker  who  right  thru  the  season  obtained  as 
many  deer  as  any  one  of  his  party,  but  because  he  did  not 
succeed  in  getting  a  head  out  of  the  ordinary,  considered  that 
he  had  had  a  bad  season.     The  next  season  he  stalked  only 


Duck  shooting  is  a  popular  sport  in  season,  and  the  New  Zealand 
hunter  who  has  no  luck  cannot  blame  it  on  either  absence  of  birds  or 
a  lack  of  variety. 


IV/LD  GAME  275 

one  good  stag^  and  incidentally  did  not  do  much  killing,  but 
because  the  stag  had  such  an  excellent  head  he  said,  "It's  the 
best  season's  si)ort  that  I  have  had  for  years." 

Wild  boar  hunting  is  the  most  exciting  of  the  big  game 
hunting  in  New  Zealand.  When  the  dogs  locate  a  herd  of 
wild  boars  there  is  a  stampede  of  the  sows  and  their  young, 
but  not  so  the  boar,  lie  faces  the  dogs  and  hunters  with 
unsheathed  tusks,  foaming  at  the  mouth  with  rage.  The  dogs 
attack  and  he  stands  them  off  until  an  opportunity  affords, 
then  takes  toll  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Thoroly  aroused, 
he  charges  the  dogs.  If  by  chance  a  bullet  strikes  him, 
then  some  one  has  to  hunt  cover.  A  wounded  and  infuriated 
boar  has  been  known  to  hold  up  hunters  for  hours.  The  hunter 
generally  takes  to  a  tree  in  case  of  emergency  and  there  re- 
mains until  it  is  the  pleasure  of  the  boar  to  let  him  come 
down. 

Wild  pork  is  very  sweet.  The  pigs  fatten  on  the  hinau 
berry,  which  grows  wild,  and  the  meat  is  said  to  be  superior 
to  the  tame  pig.  Wild  boars  learn  tricks  quickly  when  cap- 
tured young  and  make  great  pets.  The  wild  pig  is  not  native 
to  New  Zealand,  but  was  brought  by  Captain  James  Cook,  who 
gave  several  pigs  to  the  Maoris  with  the  injunction  not  to  kill 
any  of  them  until  they  had  had  time  to  increase  in  numbers. 
The  wild  pig  of  today  is  a  descendant  of  the  tame  pigs  which 
escaped  into  the  bush  many  years  ago. 

Wild  cattle  hunting  was  a  popular  pastime  in  New  Zealand, 
but  with  the  clearing  of  large  areas  of  ground  from  its  native 
bush  the  wild  cattle  worked  farther  and  farther  back  until 
now  they  can  be  found  only  in  the  back  country,  and  to  get  good 
sport  hunting  them  it  sometimes  is  necessary  to  travel  great 
distances.  In  the  old  Maori  King  country — the  center  of  the 
North  Island — even  now  large  herds  roam  the  bush. 

The  wild  bull,  like  the  wild  boar,  is  not  afraid  of  men,  and 
if  one  is  attacked  he  will  stand  his  ground  and  fight.  No  fence 
will  hold  these  wild  cattle.  Settlers  frequently  have  rounded 
them  up  when  they  came  out  of  the  bush  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  and  put  them  in  paddocks,  but  at  the  least  sight  of  what 


snnnBHMflBsiaMHH 


New  Zealand  furnishes  wonderful  sport  for  the  deer  hunter,  altho 
deer  are  not  native  to  tlie  countr}-,  hut  were  imported.  The  real  sports- 
man does  not  ro  in  for  numljers  as  mueh  as  he  does  for  "points"  on  the 
deer  head.     Tlie  hunters  in  the  picture  appear  to  be  pretty  well  satisfied 

with  their  kill. 


SPORTS  277 

appears  to  them  a  menace  they  clear  the  fences  and  make  for 
their  retreats  in  the  l)ush.  In  the  "back  of  beyond"  country 
the  buslimen  (h'aw  upon  the  wild  cattle  for  their  meat  supplies 
and  about  their  camp  fires  at  night  these  men  have  many  tales 
of  hazardous  adventure  to  tell. 

In  some  parts  of  New  Zealand  hare  hunting  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  famous  fox  hunt  that  is  so  well  liked  by  the 
British  but  has  never  been  introduced  into  New  Zealand. 
These  hunts  take  place  during  the  winter  and  as  the  hunters 
are  all  mounted  it  makes  an  exhilarating  sport.  Also  drives 
on  foot  are  common.  Large  bodies  of  men  with  dogs  and 
guns  si)read  out  in  long  lines,  then  drive  the  hares  into  a 
corner  where  they  are  bagged.  The  King  country  of  North 
Island  is  the  scene  of  wild-horse  hunting,  which  can  be  in- 
dulged in  only  on  the  plains.  As  was  done  in  the  old  Western 
country  of  the  United  States,  the  animals  are  driven  into 
stockades,  where  they  are  captured  and  broken.  It  is  splendid 
sport  and  but  little  danger  is  attached,  save  when  a  horse 
stumbles  and  throws  his  rider. 

Very  little  so-called  big  game  is  found  south  of  the  equator, 
except  in  Africa,  of  course.  South  America  has  none,  and 
that  in  New  Zealand  has  been  brought  in  within  the  last  two 
hundred  years. 

Horse  racing  is  perhaps  the  most  popular  of  all  sports  in 
the  Dominion.  It  is  government-controlled,  betting  is  allowed 
only  under  the  supervision  of  officials,  and  both  the  book- 
maker and  the  man  or  woman  who  bets  with  a  bookmaker  are 
severely  punished.  You  hear  very  little  talk  of  fixed  races  or 
crooked  jockeys  in  New  Zealand,  for,  while  gambling  on 
races  is  permitted  on  the  government-operated  machines,  the 
gambler  never  has  succeeded  in  getting  his  clutches  on  the 
game  as  he  has  elsewhere. 

The  totalisator,  or  "tote"  as  the  betting  machines  are 
called,  pay  back  to  the  bettors  all  money  which  is  wagered  with 
the  exception  of  ten  per  cent,  of  which  the  racing  club  which 
is  staging  the  meeting  gets  seven  and  one-half  per  cent  and 
the  government  two  and  one-half  per  cent.     Investments  must 


2/8 


NEW  ZEALAND 


be  made  in  person  and  no  one  under  twenty-one  is  permitted 
to  lay  a  wager.  No  investment  can  be  accepted  by  telephone 
or  telegram.  Publication  of  the  odds  on  races  at  any  place  out- 
side of  the  race  course  itself  is  prohibited,  thus  preventing 
gambling  except  by  those  actually  present  at  the  races. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  present  at  a  meeting  in 
Wellington,  the  capital  of  New  Zealand,  and  I  found  the 
customs  as  they  differ  from  those  in  the  United  States  most 
interesting.  Races  are  set  to  be  run  at  a  precise  minute,  and, 
unless  a  fractious  horse  muddles  the  start,  the  barrier  goes 
up  at  the  time  ordered.  For  at  least  thirty  minutes  before  the 
race  starts  the  horses  are  on  exhibition,  first  in  the  paddock, 
then  on  the  track  itself,  in  order  that  the  spectators  may  fa- 
miliarize themselves  with  the  horses. 

As  soon  as  a  spectator  is  satisfied  he  makes  his  way  to  the 


This  is  a  photograph  of  the  totalisator  scorc1)oard.  Under  each  slot 
is  the  numljcr  of  the  horse,  and  the  figures  in  the  windows  indicate  the 
amount  "invested,"  or  bet  on  the  horse.  The  window  at  tlie  top,  near 
the  roof,  shows  the  total  amount  put  up  on  the  race,  while  at  the  left  is 
a  board  showing  the  dividends  which  the  winners  pay.  The  "tote,"  as  it 
is  called,  is  the  invention  of  a  New  Zealander. 


SPORTS 


279 


This  is  the  finish  of  one  of  the  races  for  the  Wellington  Cup, 
always  the  big  race  of  the  year.  The  judges  are  stationed  on  the  outside 
of  the  track  and  sight  across  to  the  finish  mark,  a  heavy  black  line  on 
a  white  board. 


totalisator  machine,  joins  one  of  the  hnes  leading  up  to  the 
investment  windows,  and  when  his  ttirn  comes  buys  from  one 
of  the  girls  at  the  windows  as  many  tickets  as  he  wishes.  The 
price  of  each  ticket  is  fixed.  The  lowest  investment  is  ten 
shillings,  or  about  $2.50.  Other  tickets  are  sold  at  twice  that 
amount,  and,  where  desired,  tickets  for  100  shillings  or  about 
$25.  may  be  obtained.  On  one  day  of  the  Wellington  races 
$600,000  passed  thru  the  two  totalisators,  the  total  for  the 
three  days  meet  being  $1,150,000. 

In  New  Zealand  the  pay-off  is  made  differently  from  that 
in  other  countries,  where  wagering  is  made  on  a  horse  to  win, 
to  place  and  to  show — in  other  words,  to  run  first,  second  or 
third.  The  totalisator  pays  only  on  the  horses  which  run  first 
and  second.  In  making  your  investment  you  merely  give  the 
number  of  the  horse  upon  which  you  wish  to  wager  and  the 
ticket  you  buy  is  stamped  with  that  number.  Two-thirds  of 
the  money  invested  on  each  race,  less  the  ten  per  cent  deducted 
for  the  government  and  the  club,  is  paid  those  who  wagered 
on  the  winner  and  the  other  third  divided  anions:  the  backers 


28o  NEJV  ZEALAND 

of  the  horse  which  came  second,  provided  there  were  five 
horses  in  the  race.  It  amused  me  exceedingly  to  watch  the 
lucky  investors  dashing  off  for  the  pay-oft"  windows.  Grand- 
mothers gathered  their  skirts  up  and  scuttled  across  the  lawn 
in  competition  with  their  younger  sisters,  and  men.  old  and 
young,  ran  foot  races. 

The  city  where  a  race  meeting  is  scheduled  is  the  Mecca 
for  thousands  from  all  points  of  the  islands.  Hotel  reserva- 
tions must  be  made  far  in  advance,  and  during  the  three  or 
four  days  that  the  races  last  it  is  extremely  hard  to  get  any 
business  transacted.  Four  of  us  slept  in  one  room  at  W'elling- 
ton.  So  great  is  the  demand  for  transportation  that  the 
government-operated  railway  has  been  known  to  disrupt  regu- 
lar train  schedules  in  order  that  the  race-goers'  specials  might 
have  the  right-of-way. 

It  is  hard  to  say  what  other  sport  ranks  next  in  favor  with 
the  New  Zealanders.  Bowling  on  the  green,  tennis,  golf, 
cricket,  Rugby  football  all  have  their  adherents,  their  repre- 
sentative teams  for  competition  with  other  nations,  and  swim- 
ming has  a  strong  hold  on  the  people  generally. 

Bowling  on  the  green  is  an  ancient  and  time-honored  game 
in  England  and  her  possessions,  but  it  is  far  too  sedate  and 
deliberate  a  game  for  the  average  American.  Bowling  requires 
a  high  degree  of  skill  and  in  the  hands  of  a  master  the  balls 
will  do  wonderful  things.  Public  bowling  greens  in  the  parks 
are  as  common  here  as  corner-lot  baseball  diamonds  are  in 
the  United  States.  I  was  told  there  are  30,cxx)  registered 
bowlers  in  the  Dominion. 

The  greens  arc  wonderfully  smooth,  velvety  things  of 
grass.  I  asked  an  ardent  bowler  in  England  how  much  work 
was  required  to  make  an  ideal  green.  "It  is  very  simple,"  he 
replied.  "You  prepare  the  ground  and  sow  the  seed.  When 
the  grass  comes  up  you  water,  clip  and  roll  it,  and  sow  more 
seed,  and  you  water  and  take  care  of  it,  and  in  about  three 
hundred  years  or  .so  you  will  have  a  green  that  will  pass." 

Cricket  probably  ranks  next  in  p()])ularitv  in  New  Zealand. 
If  an\-lhing  it   re(|uires  UKjre   skill    in   pitching  the  I)all  or  in 


SPORTS  281 

batting  it  than  baseball,  but  the  contests  often  extend  over 
several  days  when  a  star  batter  is  "in."  New  Zealand  has 
produced  some  great  cricketers,  and  in  the  matches  with  Aus- 
tralia and  England  each  year  they  have  acquitted  themselves 
with  credit.  Cricket  never  has  obtained  much  of  a  hold  on 
any  nation  except  the  British,  any  more  than  baseball  has 
succeeded  in  interesting  any  country  other  than  America  to 
any  great  extent. 

Tennis  in  New  Zealand  was  given  a  great  impetus  this 
year  by  the  battle  for  the  famous  Davis  cup  between  Ameri- 
cans and  Australians.  It  was  the  first  time  that  such  an  event 
had  been  held  in  New  Zealand.  Everybody  plays  tennis — 
men  and  women,  young  and  old — and  the  various  tournaments 
bring  together  the  class  of  the  players  from  all  over  the  island. 
You  seldom  see  a  party  traveling  without  a  handful  of  rackets 
among  them. 

Golf  is  gradually  forging  to  the  fore  all  over  New  Zealand. 
Golf  courses  are  scattered  over  both  islands  and  some  of  them 
are  said  to  rank  high  as  good  courses  over  which  to  play.  The 
nature  of  the  land,  which  most  everywhere  is  hilly,  has  re- 
sulted in  rugged  courses  which  tax  endurance  and  skill.  The 
people  like  the  game  tremendously  and  it  is  one  of  their  stand- 
by sports. 

Yachting  is  another  popular  sport.  The  Dominion  has  many 
splendid  harbors  and  Auckland  is  said  to  have  more  small 
yachts  for  its  size  than  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

Swimming  ranks  high  as  a  major  sport,  being  indulged  in 
by  practically  every  New  Zealander.  Many  wonderful  swim- 
mers have  been  developed,  and  the  big  meets  attract  swimmers 
from  all  over  the  world. 

Rugby  football  is  the  great  game  of  the  young  fellows  in 
New  Zealand,  as  it  always  is  in  all  parts  of  the  British  empire. 
Teams  that  play  a  sterling  game  of  Rugby  are  to  be  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  Dominion  and  the  inter-provincial  contests  are 
a  magnet  for  thousands.  Many  persons  in  the  United  States 
will    remember    the    famous    team    of    New    Zealanders    who 


282 


NEW  ZEALAND 


The  kewi  bird,  found  in  the  North  Island,  is  said  to  locate  the  worms  on 
which  it  feeds,  by  listening  for  them. 


toured  the  world,  meeting  and  defeating  the  best  football  teams. 

Rowing  fans  will  remember  Richard  Arnst,  champion 
sculler,  whose  record  never  has  been  duplicated.  He  once  was 
a  long-distance  bicycle  rider  who  became  an  oarsman  by  acci- 
dent. Dr.  Henry  T.  J.  Thacker,  the  mayor  of  Christchurch 
and  himself  a  prominent  athlete  in  his  young  days,  took  a 
liking  to  Arnst  and  offered  to  back  him  if  he  would  try  scull- 
ing. The  bicycle  rider  accepted  and  rapidly  climbed  to  the 
top  in  rowing  circles,  winning  the  championship  from  the 
famous  Webb. 

No  story  of  sports  in  New  Zealand  would  be  complete 
without  a  mention  of  the  athletic  prowess  of  the  Maoris,  who, 
even  in  the  early  days  of  New  Zealand,  took  to  sports  as  did 
our  American  Indians.  Not  even  today,  with  the  government- 
regulated  racing,  are  better  contests  produced  than  were  to 
be  seen  at  the  old-time  Maori  "oats"  meetings.  The  slakes 
for  which  the  horses  ran  were  .sacks  of  oats.  Tiie  owner  of 
a  horse  lucky  enough  to  win  more  than  one  race  a  day  often 
had  to  send  for  a  wagon  to  haul  his  winnings  away.  There 
is  the  story  of  one  owner  whose  winnings  for  the  day  were 


SPORTS 


283 


so  heavy  that  the  Maoris  ran  out  of  oats  and  had  to  add  two 
Hve  pigs  to  the  load  of  grain  to  balance  the  account. 

Until  recent  years  it  was  in  water  sports  that  the  Maoris 
excelled,  because  the  race  always  has  had  a  fondness  for  the 
water  and  produced  splendid  sailors.  Jt  is  a  matter  of  much 
regret  to  the  old  residents  that  no  longer  do  the  Maoris  stage 
the  canoe  races  which  once  were  big  features  of  every  regatta. 

A  Maori  always  excels  in  any  game  where  quickness  of 
hand  and  eye  counts.  Handed  down  among  them  for  genera- 
tions is  a  game  calculated  to  develop  this  quickness.  It  consists 
of  two  players,  facing  each  other,  starting  at  a  given  signal 
and  making  all  kinds  of  weird  and  complicated  movements 
with  their  hands.  The  player  who  first  induces  his  opponent 
to  fall  in  the  error  of  making  the  same  movement  as  he,  is 
the  winner.  It  is  said  that  the  reason  the  Maori  has  taken  on 
civilization  so  readily  is  because  he  is  such  a  good  sport,  and 
likes  the  very  things  the  British  do  so  well. 

The  Sports  Protection  League,  with  headquarters  at  Wel- 
lington and  with  fifty  branch  offices  scattered  thruout  the 
Dominion,  is  a  most  powerful  factor  in  keeping  all  sports  clean 
and  in  encouraging  them. 


Tuatera,  or  New  Zealand  lizard,  which  is  unlike  all  other  lizards  and 
the  only  known  representative  of  the  Rhjnchocephala  order  now  extant. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Tuatera  this  order  of  reptiles  is  found  only 
as  fossils. 


i-ruit  growing  increases  from  year  to  year.     The  picture  shows  "just  a 
corner"  of  an  orchard  in  Otago  Province,  near  Duncdin. 


CHAPTER  III 

AGRICULTURE  IN    NEW   ZEALAND 

IN  THE  early  days  of  the  American  West  the  man  who 
raised  sheep  was  an  outcast,  to  be  persecuted  and  run  out 
of  the  country  with  such  of  his  flocks  as  might  survive  the 
attacks  of  the  cattlemen.  Today,  in  New  Zealand,  which  still 
is  a  young  country,  another  story  is  being  written,  and  the 
humble  sheep  comes  close  to  being  the  king  of  animals.  When 
you  mention  farming  to  a  New  Zealander  his  mind  at  once 
turns  to  sheep,  and  while  you  may  be  able  to  talk  to  him  of 
tilling  the  soil  and  growing  grains  and  fruits  and  vegetables, 


Sheep  may  be  said  to  form  the  foundation  for  New  Zealand  pros- 
perity. This  is  a  picture  of  prize-winning  New  Zealand  wool  "on  the 
hoof."  With  the  advent  of  the  freezing  plants  the  exportation  of  mutton 
enlarged  the  sheepman's  opportunities  and  greatly  stimulated  interest  in 
sheep-raising.  The  merino,  so  popular  in  the  drier  districts  of  Australia, 
make  up  less  than  five  per  cent  of  the  New  Zealand  flocks. 

285 


286  NEJV  ZEALAND 

it  is  only  a  question  of  minutes  before  he  has  drifted  back 
to  sheep  again. 

Xew  Zealand  is  a  great  farming  and  stock-raising  country 
because  its  range  of  temperature  is  slight.  In  summer  it 
never  gets  hot  enough  to  burn  up  the  grazing  lands,  and  its 
winters  are  never  so  cold  that  stock  has  to  be  housed.  Water 
is  plentiful  and  there  are  thousands  upon  thousands  of  acres 
of  virgin  land  eminently  suitable  for  the  raising  of  sheep. 

It  is  in  the  North  Island  that  the  best  sheep  and  cattle 
lands  are  to  be  found,  altho  the  sheep  on  the  3.000,000  acres 
of  Canterbury  plains  of  the  South  Island  set  the  high  stand- 
ard of  exported  mutton  for  which  New  Zealand  is  famous, 
and  the  dairy  products  of  Banks  Peninsula  grade  with  the 
best.  Canterbury,  too,  is  where  in  the  winter  months  sheep 
are  brought  from  other  districts  for  fattening  on  the  forage 
and  root  crops  which  are  raised  there. 

Farming  in  New  Zealand  was  revolutionized  by  the  dis- 
covery, in  1881,  that  sheep  killed  and  frozen  there  could  be  safe- 
ly shipped  as  far  as  England  and  there  sold  for  fancy  prices. 
Until  that  time  the  land  was  held  in  large  blocks  and  the  sheep 
grazed  on  wild  grasses,  chiefly  for  their  wool  and  tallow. 
With  the  advent  of  freezing  works  and  refrigerator  ships  it 
became  profitable  to  raise  sheep  for  the  meat.  Now,  instead 
of  letting  sheep  and  lambs  root  out  a  living  on  the  native 
growths,  the  sheepman  grows  special  crops  for  fodder  to 
fatten  the  greatest  number  of  lambs  for  export  at  from  four 
to  eight  months. 

Cultivation  and  manuring  of  the  lands  where  root  and 
forage  crops  are  grown  in  rotation  with  grain  crops  has  done 
much  to  increase  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  soil.  The  climate 
is  so  favorable  that  even  in  the  exposed  mountainous  country 
the  increase  by  lambing  runs  as  high  as  75  per  cent,  while  in 
farm  flocks  increases  as  high  as  125  to  140  per  cent  arc  not 
uncommon. 

From  the  wool,  too,  the  sheep-raiser  gets  a  good  profit, 
altho  the  wool  is  n(jt  of  the  highest  grade.  Merino  sheep,  that 
do  better  in  a  dry  climate,  make  up  less  than  5  per  cent  of  the 


AGRICULTURE 


287 


■^^.. 


Fat  lambs  held  in  pens  at  one  of  the  forty-odd  freezing  works  in  the 
Dominion.  When  the  lamb  is  dressed  the  average  carcass  weighs  about 
thirty-six  pounds,  while  carcasses  of  sheep  average  around  sixty  pounds. 
These  are  choice  lambs  to  be  killed  for  export,  for  the  government  per- 
mits only  the  best  to  be  shipped  abroad,  thereby  protecting  the  reputation 
of  New  Zealand  lamb  and  mutton  in  the  foreign  market. 


flocks.  Southdown  and  Shropshire  breeds  are  to  be  found 
everywhere,  but  in  the  South  Island  the  English  and  Border 
Leicesters  are  favored,  wliile  in  the  North  Island,  which  is 
more  rugged  and  exposed,  the  Romney  Marsh  and  Lincoln 
breeds  are  most  hked.  There  is  a  tendency  now,  however,  to 
specialize  on  the  Romney,  which  seems  to  give  best  results. 
Importation  of  high-grade  rams  and  ewes  is  constant,  the 
same  result  following  the  introduction  of  sheep  as  follows  the 
bringing  in  of  other  animals  or  birds  or  fish — they  grow  better 
and  larger  than  they  do  in  their  native  homes. 

A  great  many  of  the  larger  sheep-raisers  export  the  meat 
themselves  to  the  London  market,  tho  most  of  the  fat  sheep 
and  lambs  are  sold  to  exporters.    The  forty-odd  freezing  com- 


288 


NEW  ZEALAND 


One  interesting  spectacle  in  New  Zealand  is  the  itinerant  wool 
buyer,  who  drives  several  yokes  of  oxen  hitched  to  a  heavy  wagon,  and 
goes  from  farm  to  farm  until  he  has  the  wagon  loaded.  He  then  takes 
his  load  to  the  nearest  town  and  ships  it  to  a  mill  or  warehouse.  Such 
an  outfit  as  this  is  frequently  seen  in  the  "back  blocks." 

panics  under  strict  government  control  will  undertake  to  handle 
the  sheep  for  owners  from  the  time  they  are  received  at  the 
freezing  plants  until  the  carcasses  are  sold  on  the  London 
market,  and  they  charge  only  a  fair  rate  for  their  services. 
Private  agents  will  do  the  same  thing,  paying  the  freezing  com- 
panies for  killing  and  freezing,  and  the  steamship  company 
for  carrying  the  meat. 

All  killing  is  done  under  the  supervision  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  also  grades  the  carcasses  according  to  weight  and 
quality.  Government  men  follow  the  meat  thru  until  it  is  in 
the  hands  (jf  the  retailer.  So  closely  is  the  grading  done  that 
it  is  not  unusual  for  large  orders  being  given  by  cable  for 
shipments  extending  over  a  period  of  months. 

The  average  slaughter  of  lambs  in  New  Zealand  is  around 
3,000,000  a  year,  of  an  average  weight,  dressed,  of  thirty-six 
pounds.  More  than  tliis  number  of  sheep,  averaging  sixty 
pounds,  dressed,  are  exi)ortcd  aiuiurdlw  in  the  last  Ion  years 
36,000,000  sheep  and  an  e(|ual  number  of  lanil)s  have  been 
slaughtered  in  the  Dominion  for  food  i)urposes.  l'"<>r  ilicir  own 
food  tlu-  farmers  kill  an  axcrage  of  ^oo.ooo  sheep  and  6c).{x:)0 


AGRICULTURE  289 

lambs  a  year.  Government  figures  indicate  that  each  person 
in  New  Zealand  eats  120  pounds  of  mutton  and  lamb  a  year. 
I  ate  mutton  or  lamb  once  a  day  for  the  forty  days  of  my 
stay  there  and  did  not  tire  of  it. 

The  grasses  of  New  Zealand  ujjon  which  the  sheep  are  fed 
are  sweet  grasses,  as  the  country  is  hilly  and  rolling.  So  there 
is  no  sour  grass  of  the  swamplands  or  weeds  of  the  plain, 
which,  in  my  judgment,  accounts  for  the  delicate  flavor  of 
the  meat  of  the  sheep,  and  for  the  reputation  it  has  won  in 
the  markets  of  the  world. 

New  Zealand,  in  spite  of  its  size,  ranks  ninth  among  the 
sheep-raising  nations  of  the  w^orld.  The  value  of  the  wool 
exported  is  more  than  a  third  of  the  total  exports  of  the 
Dominion.  The  home  mills  also  take  a  considerable  amount 
of  the  wool,  half-bred  fleece  being  preferred. 

The  experience  of  the  American  sheep-raiser  has  been 
that  sheep  are  very  hard  on  land,  as  the  sheep  eat  down  to  the 
roots,  and  when  grazing  is  poor  they  even  eat  the  roots.  Most 
of  the  sheep  ranges  of  the  United  States,  however,  are  on  dry 
and  poor  land,  where  the  pasturage  burns  out  or  dries  up. 
In  New  Zealand  sheep  are  never  put  up  in  winter,  and  the  fifty 
inches  of  rainfall  furnish  abundant  forage  at  all  times.     The 


In  the  more  level  country,  where  the  roads  are  good,  the  ox  team 
is  replaced  by  the  tractor  as  a  means  of  getting  wool  to  town  for 
shipment. 


290 


NEW  ZEALAND 


^lotor  cars  have  by  no  means  replaced  the  horse  in  New  Zealand. 
Canterbury  Province,  in  which  this  picture  was  taken,  is  noted  for  its 
fine  horses,  which  range  from  trotters  and  runners  to  heavy  draft  horses. 
American  racing  stock  is  popular  with  the  breeders,  but  they  go  to 
Europe  for  the  heavy  work  stock. 

usual  system  is  to  change  the  flocks  from  one  fenced  range  to 
another  so  that  the  grass  will  not  be  eaten  too  closely.  The 
fact  that  16,000,000  acres,  or  more  than  a  third  of  the  whole 
country,  which  had  been  opened  up  and  planted  to  crop  once, 
have  been  turned  back  to  sheep  and  cattle,  proves  that  the 
"woolies"  pay  better  than  grain. 

To  one  fresh  from  the  United  States  the  first  thing  after 

sheep  that  attracts  atten- 
tion is  horses.  In  the 
rugged  country,  which  is 
found  almost  every- 
where in  New  Zealand, 
the  horse  has  not  as 
yet  succumbed  to  the 
motor.  And  such  horses ! 
None  of  the  under-sized, 
poorly  conditioned  ani- 
mals with  which  so 
many  of  our  American 
farmers  are  content  to 
work,  but  great,  broad- 
hi])ped  Clvdesdales  and 
Weighing    in    milk    at    one    of    the    many    co-      ^,  •  •   '   ,,.i,,..p    veins 

operative  butter  and  cheese  factories.  Mmc^.    m    w  Mose    \cms 


AGRICULTURE 


291 


runs  the  blood  of 
the  best  work  stock 
of  other  lands.  The 
New  Zealander  loves 
horses  and  only  the 
best  will  satisfy  him. 
Next  to  sheep- 
raising,  dairying  is 
the  great  farm  in- 
dustry of  the  coun- 
try. The  govern- 
ment figures  show 
almost  900,000  dairy 

cows  scattered  thru-  jj^g  receiving  platform  at  a  co-operative  cheese  fac- 
OUt  the  North  and  tory.  Some  of  these  factories  run  the  entire  year. 
Q      til  T  1      A      Tl  Usually,  however,  they  operate  only  nine  months.     Gen- 

oOUtn  Islands.    1  nere   erally,  five  men  constitute  a  working  force. 
are  fully  27,000.000 

acres  in  the  Dominion  which  are  purely  pastoral — hills  and 
slopes  where  grain  cannot  be  sown  but  which  afford  sticculent 
grazing. 

Dairy  produce  is  of  course  one  of  the  big  factors  in  New 
Zealand  commerce,  and  every  aid  and  encouragement  is  given 
by  the  government.  Advances  are  made  by  the  state  to  dairy 
companies  for  the  purpose  of  buying  land,  erecting  buildings 


A  typical  dairy  products  factory  in  New  Zealand,  owned  on  the  co- 
operative plan.  Farmers  who  own  shares  are  paid  for  milk  on  the  basis 
of  the  butter  fat  it  contains,  and  get  back  the  skimmed  milk.  The 
profits  of  the  factory  are  divided  among  shareholders  on  the  basis  of  the 
amount  of  milk  they  have  furnished. 


292  NEJV  ZEALAND 

and  buying  machinery.  Five  per  cent  interest  is  charged  on 
the  money  advanced  and  the  debts  must  be  repaid  within 
fifteen  years. 

Co-operative  butter  and  cheese  factories  are  numerous.  The 
milk  producers  are  paid  for  their  milk  according  to  the  butter 
fat  which  it  contains,  and  after  the  expenses  of  the  factory 
have  been  paid  the  net  profits  are  divided  among  those  who 
own  the  co-operative  factory.  The  butter  and  cheese  produced 
are  either  sold  for  the  season  at  a  fixed  price,  or  else  consigned 
to  a  foreign  market — usually  London — under  an  agreement 
guaranteeing  a  minimum  price. 

Government  grading  of  dairy  produce  is  free,  and  so  care- 
fully is  this  done  that  the  Dominion  inspector's  stamp  is  ac- 
cepted wherever  the  produce  is  sold,  the  certificates  being 
taken  as  final  so  far  as  Cjuality  and  weight  are  concerned.  No 
dairy  or  meat  products  can  be  exported  from  New  Zealand 
without  the  government  stamp. 

While  some  of  the  factories  close  down  for  three  months 
each  year,  many  of  them,  particularly  in  the  better  dairy  dis- 
tricts, run  the  year  round.  Most  of  them  are  equipped  so 
that  they  can  make  either  butter  or  cheese  as  the  season  or 
the  market  dictates.  The  214  butter  factories  and  400  cheese 
factories  annually  prepare  for  export  20,000  tons  of  butter 
and  60,000  tons  of  cheese,  in  addition  to  the  generous  quanti- 
ties reserved  for  home  consumption. 

Comparatively  few  cattle  are  raised  for  beef,  altho  there 
are  still  some  fine  herds  of  the  Shorthorn,  Aberdeen-Angus 
and  Hereford  breeds.  The  favorite  breeds,  however,  are  the 
dairy  stock,  Jerseys,  Holsteins,  Ayreshires  and  milking  short- 
horns.   Very  few  hogs  are  raised,  and  these  only  for  local  use. 

1  asked  an  official  of  the  New  Zealand  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, "Why  don't  you  raise  more  wheat  and  oats,  and  why 
has  the  acreage  sown  to  these  crops  been  smaller  in  the  last 
two  years  than  in  the  past?" 

"Sheep,  ])rinci])ally,"  he  answered  with  ri  smile.  "(  )ur  rain- 
fall is  so  plentiful,  and  grass  and  forage  crops  grow  so  ra])i(lly 
and  heavily  that  the  farmer  finds  sheep  pay  him  better  than 


AGRICULTURE 


293 


Dairy  cattle  are  increasing  in  New  Zealand,  and  many  fine  herds  are 
seen  in  the  mixed  farm.ing  districts.  This  picture  of  a  Friesian  dairy 
herd  was  taken  on  the  Weraroa  state  farm. 


cereals  and  are  less  work.  There  is  another  reason,  too.  Fer- 
tilizer is  so  high — three  times  as  high  as  it  was  before  the  war, 
and  the  farmer  will  not  pay  the  price.  Most  of  our  land  re- 
quires fertilizer  to  make  it  produce  its  best  small  grain  crops. 
So,  while  the  government  tries  to  encourage  the  raising  of 
wheat  by  guaranteeing  a  minimum  price  and  fixing  the  maxi- 
mum price  at  which  Australian  wheat  can  be  laid  down  in  New 
Zealand,  the  lure  of  sheep-raising  is  too  strong." 

That  is  why  New  Zealand  raises  wheat  and  oats  only  for 


294 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


The  Farmers  Institute  Building,  in  Wellington,  is  a  large  new  office 
structure,  owned  exclusively  by  farmers.  In  the  basement  are  showers, 
smoking-rooms  and  restaurant.  On  the  top  floor  arc  bedrooms  for 
members.     Also,  there  is  an  auditorium  for  farm  organization  meetings. 

her  own  use  and  depends  upon  sheep  and  dairy  ])ro(kice  for  the 
bulk  of  her  exports.  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  wheat  grown  is 
on  the  South  Island,  mo.st  of  it  on  the  fertile  plains  of  Canter- 
bury and  South  Otago.  Little  corn  is  raised,  and  practically  all 
of  that  is  grown  in  the  northeastern  district  of  North  Island. 

The  South  Island  leads  in  the  production  of  barley  and 
peas  for  export.  A  great  deal  of  flax  is  grown  all  over  the 
Dominion  for  export,  most  of  it  coming  to  America  to  be  used 
for  rope  anrl  twine. 

( )i   ilic   total   area   of   43,500,000  acres  occupied    in    New 


AGRICULTURE 


295 


Zealand,  i6,ocxd,ooo  acres  were  in  pasture  on  land  that  had 
been  seeded.  The  figures  for  last  year  show  that  grain  and 
pulse  crops  were  sown  on  700.000  acres,  that  grass  for  seed 
and  hay  was  being  grown  on  900,000  acres,  that  25,000  acres 
were  given  over  to  orchards,  while  25,500,000  acres  were  wild 
lands  and  consisted  largely  of  sheep  and  cattle  ranges.  The 
rest  of  the  land  under  occupation  was  given  over  largely  to 
small  gardens  and  private  grounds.  The  average  yield  thru- 
out  the  Dominion  is  thirty-two  bushels  of  wheat.  In  Canter- 
bury plains,  where  the  yield  is  exceptional,  it  runs  as  high  as 
ninety  bushels  to  the  acre. 

In  the  North  Island  there  are  a  great  many  thousand  acres 
of  volcanic,  or  pumice  lands,  wdiere  the  government  is  making 
a  strong  effort  to  treat  the  land  so  that  it  w^ill  become  pro- 
ductive. The  discovery  was  made  that  near  the  edges  of  small 
streams  and  lakes,  where  livestock  had  rolled  and  pawed  up 
the  earth,  a  rich  crop  of  grass  has  sprung  up.  The  govern- 
ment authorities  believe  that  plowing,  harrowing  and  rolling 


Harvesting  wheat  in  New  Zealand.  Wheat  and  oats  are  grown  only 
for  domestic  consumption,  and  approximately  ninety  per  cent  of  the 
wheat  is  raised  in  Canterbury  and  South  Otago. 


296 


NEW  ZEALAND 


A  New  Zealand  farmerette  piloting  an  ox  team  at  flax-gathering  time.   In 
the  background  are  bundles  of  flax  piled  up  ready  for  stripping. 


this  ground  ultimately  will  result  in  making  it  suitable  for 
crops. 

There  are  four  large  experimental  farms  located  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Dominion,  where  experiments  are  conducted 
for  the  benefit  of  the  neighborhood.  One  department  consists 
of  classes  for  the  farmers,  at  which  they  are  shown  the  meth- 
ods employed  and  the  results  achieved.  At  these  farms,  in 
addition  to  general  farming,  work  is  constantly  going  on  in 
hog-raising,  dairy  produce,  bee  culture  and  poultry  keeping, 
plant  and  seed  selection  and  orcharding. 

In  addition  to  the  government  farms,  two  farm  organiza- 
tions have  model  farms  where  the  best  dairying  methods  are 
demonstrated.  These  two  farms  are  financed  and  managed 
l)y  the  farmers  themselves,  a  member  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  being  chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge.  The 
government  has  arranged  small  subsidies  extending  over  seven 


AGRICULTURE 


297 


years  to  insure  the  financial  success  of  the  venture.  Field  in- 
structors are  kept  out  virtually  the  whole  year,  .and  biologists 
and  other  scientists  are  sent  out  to  study  plant  and  animal 
diseases.  In  the  laboratories  at  Wellington  thousands  of  seed 
samples  are  tested  each  year  for  the  farmers,  and  constant 
examination  is  being  made  of  fertilizers. 

The  government  authorities  are  anxious  for  the  early  set- 
tlement of  the  unoccupied  land,  for  New  Zealand's  success 
depends  largely  upon  its  agriculture.  In  view  of  this  they 
have  a  plan  by  which  one  can  purchase  or  lease  on  long  time 
large  farms  and  by  roughing  it  for  a  few  years  can  obtain 
a  comfortable  home. 

There  are  three  methods  whereby  government  lands  may 
be  acquired.     One  is  by  outright  purchase,  another  ])y  lease 


New  Zealand  has  a  so-called  flax,  really  a  species  of  lily,  which  is 
one  of  the  big  items  of  export  to  the  United  States,  where  it  is  used 
for  the  making  of  twine.  This  flax  is  native  to  the  country,  and  for 
hundreds  of  years  the  Maoris  have  used  it  to  make  their  clothes  and 
blankets.  After  being  cut  the  flax  is  sun-dried  in  the  field  and  then 
hauled  to  a  breaking  machine. 


298 


NEIV  ZEALAND 


Baled  flax  for  export  being  loaded  on  ship. 


with  the  right  to  purchase,  and  the  third  by  plain  lease,  with 
no  option.  To  rent  land  with  a  view  to  buying  it  later  the 
tenant  pays  a  rental  equal  to  f.ve  per  cent  of  the  sale  price  of 
the  land.  On  the  land  which  is  leased  without  purchase  option 
the  rent  is  four  per  cent  of  the  sale  price. 

Land  is  divided  into  three  classes.  For  the  first  class  lands 
the  sale  price  is  not  less  than  $5.00  an  acre,  for  the  second 
class,  not  less  than  $2.50  an  acre,  and  for  the  third  class,  not 
less  than  $1.25  an  acre.  These  are  the  niininuini  prices  on 
the  poorest  land.  I'he  holdings  are  limited  to  666  acres  of 
the  first  class,  2,000  acres  of  the  second  class  and  5,000  of  the 
third  class.  The  man  who  leases  land  with  a  view  to  buying 
has  twenty-five  years  in  which  to  pay  off  the  debt.  Leases 
without  option  run  for  sixty-six  years,  with  the  privilege  of 
renewal.  There  arc  modifications  of  these  terms  for  those  who 
want  U)  settle  on  the  land  for  shorter  i)cri()(ls.     W'licn  llu'  land 


AGRICULTURE  299 

is  bought  outright  certain  improvements  must  be  made,  as  is 
the  case  with  leased  lands,  and  residence  on  the  land  is  com- 
pulsory for  two  years  on  most  crown  lands. 

The  government  still  owns  4,500,000  acres,  of  which  joo,- 
000  acres  is  open  for  settlement.  Most  of  that  which  is  not 
open  consists  of  rugged,  mountainous  land  which  is  suitable 
only  for  pastoral  purposes.  The  holdings  of  the  government 
vary  from  year  to  year  as  more  and  more  Maoris  dispose  of 
their  land.  About  150,000  acres  are  disposed  of  each  year, 
either  sold  or  leased. 

Of  recent  years  land  legislation  has  tended  more  and  more 
to  prevent  speculators  from  obtaining  large  blocks  of  agricul- 
tural land  and  using  it  for  pastoral  purposes.  The  government 
frequently  takes  steps  to  compel  big  landholders  to  divide  their 
tracts  and  permit  more  settlers  to  come  in.  Usually  it  is  not 
difficult  for  the  landowner  to  agree  on  a  price,  but  if  the  owner 
is  obdurate  the  government  takes  the  land  by  condemnation. 
In  one  instance,  in  a  district  of  North  Island,  the  government 
decided  that  one  man  held  loo  much  land  and  compelled  him 


Splendid  barn.s  and  other  buildings  usually  are  found  on  New 
Zealand  farms.  This  is  the  type  of  warehouse  in  which  the  farmer  stores 
his  wool  at  shearing  time,  until  he  has  time  to  bale  it  and  send  it  to 
market. 


300 


Tapping  a  kauri  tree  for  turpentine 
resin,  which,  when  solidified,  becomes 
kauri  gum.  This  is  so  injurious  to  the 
trees  that  the  practice  is  forbidden  on 
government-owned  kauri  lands.  The 
trees  are  climbed  by  means  of  rope  slings, 
and  ropes  are  then  dropped  over  limbs, 
often  a  hundred  feet  from  the  ground. 
Helpers  on  the  ground  manipulate  the 
ropes,  raising  or  lowering  the  tappers  as 
required. 


NEJV  ZEALAND 

to  sell  half  of  it.  On  that  half 
the  government  settled  thirty- 
two  families,  while  the  original 
liolder  really  suffered  no  loss  in 
his  income  because  he  began 
more  intensive  cultivation  of  the 
half  which  he  had  left. 

Since  1894  laws  have  been 
passed  making  it  possible  for  the 
government  to  advance  money 
to  worthy  settlers.  The  smallest 
advance  made  is  $125,  and  the 
largest  is  $12,500.  The  loans 
must  be  repaid  in  thirty-six  and 
a  half  years.  To  date  over  a 
hundred  million  dollars  have 
been  lent  out  to  fifty  thousand 
persons.  Half  of  the  principal 
has  been  repaid.  The  depart- 
ment makes  a  net  profit  each 
year  of  $250,000. 

The  government  has  made  it 
easy  for  returned  soldiers  to  ac- 
quire land,  and  some  8,000  of 
them  have  been  settled  on  cither 
virgin  or  improved  land.  If  the 
soldier  prefers  to  buy  private 
land  which  has  already  l)ecn  im- 
proved the  government  will  ad- 
vance him  $12,500  on   the  pur- 


chase price,  $3,750  with  which  to 
fence,  clear,  buy  stock  and  ini])]cnicnls,  and  $250  for  his  house- 
hold ftirniture. 

The  tax  laws  of  New  Zealand  seem  specially  framed  to 
help  the  farmer.  The  tax  is  assessed  on  the  unimproved  value 
of  the  land,  with  exemptions  and  deductions  according  to  the 
value   of    the    holding.      Where    tlie    land    is    mortgaged    still 


AGRICULTURE 


301 


furtlier  exemptions  are  allowed.  In  certain  cases  where  the 
landholder  is  in  hard  luck  the  commissioner  of  taxes  has  the 
power  to  grant  even  further  relief  than  ijrovided  by  the  ex- 
emptions. The  present  system  is  that  of  a  progressive  land 
tax,  the  object  being  to  break  up  the  large  holdings  by  making 
the  rate  higher  on  larger  blocks  than  on  small  holdings.  Ab- 
sentee landlords  and  shareholders  in  land  companies  pay  a 
50  per  cent  higher  tax  than  do  those  who  live  on  the  land. 

In  addition  to  the  land  tax,  however,  the  farmer  pays  an 
income  tax  on  earnings  above  $1,500  a  year.  Exemptions  of 
$1,500  is  allowed  on  incomes  up  to  $3,000;  above  that  the  ex- 
emption gradually  decreases  until  on  incomes  of  $4,500  there 
is  no  deduction  at  all. 

Along  the  peninsula  to  the  north  of  Auckland  lie  the  great 
kauri  forests  which  have  made  it  the  timber  center  of  the  entire 
Dominion.     In  this  same  area  is  located  an   industrv  which 


The  best  kauri  gum  is  found  ten  or  twelve  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  where  ancient  kauri  forests  are  buried.  The  presence 
of  the  hidden  treasure  is  determined  by  "spearing  the  ground."  Long 
spearHke  iron  rods,  such  as  are  shown  in  the  hands  of  the  men  in  the 
photograph,  are  used  to  probe  thru  the  soil  and  pipestone  clay.  Having 
located  tlie  gum  in  this  manner,  the  diggers  resort  to  pick  and  shovel. 
The  picture  shows  a  typical  kauri  gum  diggers'  camp. 


302  NEJV  ZEALAND 

has  no  rival  in  the  world,  and  which  makes  it  possible  for  the 
United  States,  to  which  most  of  it  is  exported,  to  lead  the  world 
in  the  manufacture  of  varnishes  and  linoleum.  It  is  kauri 
gum  industry,  and  the  gum  is  found  only  in  the  814,000  acres 
in  northern  New  Zealand,  where  the  kauri  trees  are  thick. 

Kauri  gum  is  really  not  a  gum  at  all.  It  is  the  solidified 
turpentine  of  the  kauri  tree  and  is  a  resin.  It  assimilates  oil 
more  quickly  and  at  a  lower  temperature  than  any  other  known 
gum,  and  for  that  reason  is  always  sought  by  the  makers  of 
the  best  varnishes.  The  best  quality,  which  is  transparent,  is 
used  as  a  substitute  for  amber  in  making  pipestems  and  cigar- 
holders. 

Many  years  ago — even  before  the  Maoris  settled  the  island 
— there  must  have  been  great  forests  of  kauri  trees,  which 
were  destroyed  probably  from  fire  by  lightning.  These  were 
followed  by  other  forests,  which  were  in  turn  destroyed.  So 
it  happens  today  that  the  best  gum  is  found  ten  or  more  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  some  places  as  many  as 
three  or  four  layers  have  been  discovered  at  varying  depths. 

The  gum  diggers,  some  10,000  in  number,  are  picturesqu 
as  they  go  about  with  their  long  spears,  probing  into  the 
ground  and  later  shoveling  away  the  dirt  above  the  spot  where 
they  have  located  the  gum.  It  comes  up  in  large  chunks,  altho 
as  small  a  piece  as  a  walnut  is  not  to  be  scorned,  because  it  is 
worth  from  $300  to  $500  a  ton.  Annual  exports  are  about  2,500 
tons  at  an  average  price  of  $360  a  ton.  The  closer  it  is  to  the 
surface  of  the  ground  and  the  drier  the  ground  where  it  is 
found,  the  more  valuable  it  is.  The  light-colored  gum  is  more 
valua1)le  than  the  dark. 

(ium  also  is  found  in  the  forks  of  living  trees,  but  the 
quality  is  poor,  and  so  much  damage  has  been  done  to  trees 
by  careless  gum  gatherers  that  seeking  gum  in  the  trees  is  for- 
bidden on  ]niljlic  lands.  Some  i)ieces  weighing  as  much  as 
one  hundred  pounds  have  been  found. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  there  was  no  restriction  or  organiza- 
tion concerning  the  digging  of  gum.  The  diggers,  both  men 
and    women,   worked   indcpcn(k'nlly,   digging   here   and   there. 


iCRICr /.'/'[' RE 


303 


Those  who  farm  on  a  big  scale  in  New  Zealand  are  thoroly  modern  in 
their  methods,  as  this  hay-stacker  on  a  Canterbury  farm  proves. 


taking  away  whatever  gum  they  could  find  near  the  surface 
and  moving  on  to  another  spot.  Now  the  government  has  it 
in  charge,  license  is  granted  the  diggers  and  the  government 
buys  most  of  their  find  for  export. 

It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  the  majority  of  Austrians  who  live 
in  New  Zealand  are  working  as  gum  diggers.  They  camp 
together  in  groups  of  twenty  or  thirty,  get  in  the  field  at  dawn 
and  work  until  dark.  They  are  careful  and  methodical  about 
the  work  and  stay  at  the  same  place  until  all  the  gum  is  ob- 
tained. I  was  told  that  it  is  a  saying  in  the  gum  fields  that 
it  is  useless  to  follow  up  an  Austrian.  Many  of  the  diggers 
make  a  good  living  by  following  up  the  careless  diggers,  and 
where  they  find  only  the  surface  worked,  probe  with  long 
spears,  and  by  means  of  hooks  bring  up  the  deeply  buried 
gum. 

Some  concern  has  been  expressed  by  the  authorities  over 
the  ruination  of  the  ground  by  careless  diggers.  Rather  than 
clear  oft  the  trees  and  ferns  which  cover  the  ground,  they  set 
these  afire  and  btirn  ofl:  the  top  layer  of  the  soil,  never  more 
than  two  or  three  inches  deep,  leaving  exposed  only  white  pipe 
clay,  which  has  not  been  foimd  of  much  use  for  growing  any- 


304 


NEU'  ZEALAND 


thing.     Experiments  in  an  effort  to  grow  grass  which  can  be 
pastured  by  sheep  have  met  with  only  moderate  success. 

Xot  much  attention  is  paid  to  mining.  More  than  fifty 
years  ago  some  rich  placer  gold  mines  were  found,  but  they 
did  not  last  long.  Alluvial  gold  is  now  found  on  the  west 
coast  of  the  South  Island  and  in  Otago,  where  some  dredges 
are  making  a  reasonable  profit  on  the  operation.  There  is 
plenty  of  water  for  hydraulic  sluicing.  The  chief  mining  in- 
dustry of  the  Dominion  is  that  of  coal,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
there  is  coal  enough  in  sight  to  last  Xew  Zealand  for  the  next 
hundred  years.  Silver,  lead,  copper,  tin,  iron  and  other  min- 
erals are  found  in  limited  quantities. 


ii5jfti.jiM8i  JiiL^aMigjgHtJ-aaa-jx.^ 


The  Prince  of  Wales  (standing  between  the  two  women  at  the  center 
of  the  picture)  and  his  official  party  in  New  Zealand.  The  Prince  com- 
pletely won  the  hearts  of  the  New  Zeaiandcrs  and  Australians  by  his 
unaffected  democracy.     They  unanimously  voted  him  "a  pood  fellow." 


CHAPTER  IV 


This  adaptation  of 
the  royal  coat-of-arms 
of  the  British  Empire 
generally  is  used  by  the 
Dominion  of  New  Zea- 
land. 


THE    GOVERNMENT    AND    LABOR 

IN  1840  the  Maoris,  thru  treaty,  recognized  the  sovereignty 
of  the  British  Empire,  and  the  flag  that  had  been  planted 
by  Capt.  James  Cook  in  177 1  became  their  flag  and  they  were 
taken  in  as  full  British  subjects  and  given  equal  rights  with  the 
citizens  then  in  New  Zealand.  About 
fifteen  years  later  New  Zealand  was 
formed  into  a  dominion  with  a  number 
of  provinces,  each  province  having  a 
separate  local  government  and  sending 
members  to  a  congress  composed  of  an 
upper  and  a  lower  house,  the  same  as 
we  have  in  the  United  States. 

New  Zealand  has  no  written  consti- 
tution like  the  United  States,  but  the 
unwritten  constitution  of  the  British 
Empire  applied.  She  had  a  Prime  Minister,  the  leader  of  the 
party  then  in  power,  and  a  Governor  General  sent  out  by  the 
Crown.  About  fifty  years  ago  the  provinces  were  abolished,  and 
members  of  the  Lower  House  of  Parliament  were  elected  from 
districts,  the  same  as  our  Congress,  but  the  Upper  House  was, 
and  still  is,  appointed  for  life  by  the  Prime  Minister  and  his 
cabinet.  As  the  Prime  ^Minister  is  the  leader  of  his  party  and 
appoints  his  own  cabinet,  thru  appointment  they  create  what 
would  be  our  Senate.  The  body  is  not  limited  as  to  mem- 
bership, altho  it  has  been  held  down  to  a  reasonable  num- 
ber thru  precedent.  It  is  composed  of  the  big  men  of  New 
Zealand,  who  are  selected  without  reference  to  the  party 
to  which  they  belong.  They  have  a  vote  on  nearly  all  legisla- 
tion to  about  the  same  extent  as  that  of  the  House  of  Lords 
in  England. 

There  are  three  parties  in  New  Zealand — the  Reform,  Lib- 


305 


3o6  NEJV  ZEALAND 

eral  and  Labor  parties.  As  near  as  1  can  judge  from  the  men 
who  are  leaders  in  the  Reform  party  it  would  be  more  fittingly 
called  the  Conservative  party,  as  that  term  more  correctly  rep- 
resents their  actions. 

Ninety  per  cent  of  the  people  in  New  Zealand  are  of  pure 
British  blood  and  do  their  own  thinking,  and  if  the  policies 
advocated  by  the  government  in  power  do  not  suit  them  they 
are  not  slow  to  make  a  change. 

Cities  and  towns  have  no  local  policemen,  and  both  munici- 
pal and  dominion  laws  are  enforced  by  less  than  i,ooo  dominion 
policemen,  who  are  under  civil  service  and  independent  of 
pulls  or  politics.  Each  state  in  the  United  States  should  con- 
trol the  police  in  that  state,  for  it  would  hardly  be  practicable 
for  us  to  have  a  national  police.  Only  in  this  wav  can  our 
state  and  municipal  laws  be  enforced. 

Any  country  is  in  a  very  bad  way  if  the  people  have  lost 
confidence  in  the  judiciary.  I  was  in  New  Zealand  for  quite 
a  while  and  universally  I  heard  nothing  but  praise  for  their 
judges,  who  to  a  man  seemed  above  suspicion.  In  fact,  the 
only  complaint  I  ever  heard  was  that  some  of  them  stood  .so 
straight  that  they  leaned  backward. 

I  learned  of  only  one  judge.  Chief  Justice  Stout  of  the 
New  Zealand  Supreme  Court,  who  paid  any  attention  to  de- 
cisions of  the  United  States  courts  which  were  offered  as 
references.  He  was  referred  to  as  the  man  wlio  especial) v 
leaned  toward  the  United  States  in  every  way.  1  had  a  most 
interesting  visit  with  him  and  came  away  feeling  1  better 
understood  New  Zealand's  aims  and  institutions. 

Many  of  Judge  Stout's  relatives  emigrated  from  Scotland 
to  the  United  States  years  ago  and  he  corresponds  with  them 
regularly.  His  fnll  name  is  Hon.  Sir  R()l)ert  Stout,  K.  C.  M. 
G.,  LL.  D.,  and  he  has  been  Chief  Justice  of  New  Zealand  since 
iSqcS.  He  was  born  in  Shetland  Islands,  Scotland,  in  1845 
and  has  been  in  New  Zealand  since  1S64.  when  he  started  in 
as  a  sch()(jlmaster  at  Dunedin,  where  he  was  adnn'ltcd  to  the 
bar  in  1871  and  elected  to  ])arliamenl  in  1875.  lie  ])ecanie 
attorney  general   three  years  later,  and   in    1S.S4,  as  leader  of 


COriiRNMIlNT  AND  LABOR 


307 


his  party,  became  l^rinie 
Minister.  All  his  life  judge 
Stout  has  had  the  schools 
of  New  Zealand  ;is  his 
hobby.  It  is  such  men  as 
Stout,  Masse}'  and  Richard 
Seddon  who  have  made 
New  Zealand  the  wonder- 
fully well-governed,  well- 
educated  and  i)n)S])erous 
country  that  it  is  ((^lay. 

When  it  found  a  drift 
toward  Socialism  among 
the  workers  of  the  coun- 
try, the  government  got 
busy  and  lent  these  people 
money  to  build  homes  of 
their  own  so  that  they  be- 
came independent  and  were 
interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  whole  country.  When 
it  found  in  the  natural 
course  of  events  that  there 
were  left   widows   and  or- 

phans  whose  husbands  and  ,-     ^    .>r    ,-- 

r  ^^           ,      ,         ,    ,              ,  ,  Honorable    Sir    Robert    Stout.    K.    C.    M.    G.. 

fathers   had    not    been    able  lL.  D.,  Chief  Justice  of  New  Zealand's  Supreme 

to   provide    for   the    future.  Court,     an     internationally     famed     jurist     who 

•  ,         <.   II-  1      1              •              r  closely   studies  decisions   made   by   courts   in   the 

It    established    pensions    of  ^^^^  States. 

$5.00    a     week     for     each 

widow  and  $2.50  for  each  child  under  14  years  of  age.    \\'hen 

men  and  women  grow  old  they  receive  a  pension  unless  their 

income  is  above  a  certain  amount.     I  met  the  editor  of  one  of 

the  country  dailies  in  a  town  where  I  was  surprised  to  find  a 

daily  paper  at  all,  and  I  asked  him  how  they  could  afiford  to 

get  out  a  daily  paper  in  a  town  of  that  size.     His  answer  was 

that  it  didn't  cost  very  much,  as  he  edited  the  paper   for  a 


3o8 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


small  amount  be- 
cause he  had  his  old 
age  pension  beside. 
When  the  great 
W^orld  War  came 
on  and  the  mother 
country  called  on 
her  colonies  to 
send  their  sons  to 
the  front,  New 
Zealand  sent  102,- 
000  out  of  a  popu- 
lation of  1,200,000, 
or  one  man  out  of 
every  three  be- 
tween the  ages  of 
18  and  50.  The 
number  of  N  e  w 
Zealanders  w  h  o 
were  killed  or  died 
from  sickness 
across  the  sea  was 
17,000.  New  Zea- 
land furnished  the 
largest  percentage 
of  soldiers  for  her 
population  and  had 
the  largest  casualty 
roll  in  proportion 
of  any  country  ex- 
cept France.  Since 
the  soldiers  re- 
turned home   New 

Zealand  has  spent  an  average  of  $1,000  apiece  to  aid  tlicni. 

Before    I   came   to   New   Zealand    I    had    heard    thai    tliis 

Dominion  was  handling  the  capital  and  lal)()r  (|uestion  belter 

than  any  other  government  in  the  world.     This  is  no  doubt 


New  Zealand  did  her  "bit"  in  the  World  War.  On  the 
basis  of  population  she  .sent  the  largest  percentage  ol 
troops  to  the  conflict,  and  had  the  largest  casualty  list, 
of  any  country  except  France.  The  picture  shows  the 
Prince  of  Wales  decorating  a  New  Zealand  hero. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LABOR 


309 


true.  It  is  a  single- 
blooded  country 
w  i  t  h  o  u  t  mixed 
races  and  has  the 
smallest  percentage 
of  colored  peoi)le  in 
t  h  e  world,  not 
counting  the  native 
Maori.  As  these 
native  Maoris  near- 
ly all  live  from  the 
soil  and  the  men 
are  inclined  to  be 
lazy,  they  compete 
very  little  with 
white  labor.  The 
immigration  laws 
of  New  Zealand 
are  so  rigid  that 
very  few  from  In- 
dia, China,  Africa 
or  Japan  get  into 
the  country. 

Being     single- 
blooded  white  peo- 

Spcaking  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  he  is  decidedly  popu-  I*'*^  ^^  British 
lar  in  New  Zealand  and  Australia  because  of  his  demo-  stock,  the  New 
cratic  demeanor.  Of  course,  everybody  wanted  to  photo-  7  1  1  .,  1 
graph  His  Royal  Highness,  and  he  was  quite  accommo-  ^eaianaeis^  nave 
dating  about  it.  To  two  of  his  aides  who  stood  between  the  same  viewpoint 
him  and  a  camera  he  called  out:  "You  chaps  might  as  r  pp,,,>^  ^„^i  ;,.e 
well  move  away.     Nobody  wants  you  in  this  picture."     Of  equity   anu   jus- 

another  photographer  he  asked :  "Are  you  traveling  with  tice,  and  the  de- 
this  show  or  do  you  belong  here?"  Such  incidents  went  p,-oip,„o  ^.f  tlipir 
a  long  way  toward  making  friends  for  the  heir  to  the  '-'^''^"^  '^^  ^neir 
British  throne.  courts  are  respect- 

ed. In  1894  there 
was  established  a  court  of  arbitration,  in  which  labor  disputes 
are  settled.  The  judge  was  then  appointed  from  the  Supreme 
Court.     Now  a  judge  is  appointed  who  is  a  lawyer  with  large 


New  Zealand  is  very  rich  in  ])otci!tial  water  power.  In  time  licr 
hydro-electric  developments  will  make  her  independent  of  fuel.  Tiie 
])icture  shows  the  power  house  of  the  Lake  Coleridge  hydro-electric  plant 
and  the  great  pipes  which  carry  the  waters  down  the  mountain  from  Lake 
Coleridge. 


COVHRNMliNT  AND  LABOR  311 

business  experience.  Any  employer  of  labor  wbo  wishes  to 
have  settled  any  demand  on  him  for  an  increase  in  wages  or 
desires  a  decision  when  he  wishes  to  reduce  wages,  can  have 
cited  and  brought  into  court  any  union  that  is  registered  in 
the  Dominion.  And  the  employe  likewise  can  have  his  em- 
plii\cr  broughl  into  court. 

'ihe  judge  of  the  Court  of  Arbitration  has  sitting  with  him 
a  man  who  is  selected  to  represent  the  employer  and  one  who 
is  selected  to  represent  labor.  The  finding  of  any  two  is 
binding  without  appeal.  If  a  union  refuses  to  accept  a  decision 
of  the  court  its  legal  charter  is  taken  away.  If  an  employer, 
citlicr  a  corporation  or  an  individual,  refuses  to  accept  a  de- 
cision of  the  court,  he  is  fined.  The  labor  unions  can  force 
employers  into  court,  but  a  union  cannot  be  forced  into  cotirt 
unless  it  is  registered  for  that  puri)ose. 

For  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  civilized  world  has  been 
in  a  cycle  of  advancing  wages.  The  majority  of  decisions 
handed  down  by  the  New  Zealand  arbitration  court  have  been 
favorable  to  labor.  Naturally,  such  decisions  would  tend  to 
inspire  labor  with  enthusiasm  for  this  system.  The  industrial 
world  now  is  in  a  cycle  of  declining  prices  and  this  economic 
reaction  includes  New  Zealand.  As  world  conditions  return 
to  normal  and  the  purchasing  power  of  money  increases  and 
living  costs  decrease,  a  natural  and  almost  irresistible  pressure 
falls  on  wages.  If  arbitration  courts  are  to  maintain  the  estab- 
lished ratio  between  living  costs  and  wages,  current  and  future 
decisions  are  apt  to  call  for  lower  wage  scales.  How  such 
decisions  will  be  accepted  by  the  labor  unions  remains  to  be 
seen.  The  season  of  declining  prices  and  wages  will,  there- 
fore, test  the  ef^cacy  of  the  arbitration  system  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  labor  leadership  in  New  Zealand.  As  now  organized 
the  unions  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  arbitration 
courts  thru  voluntary  registration.  It  is  conceivable  that  a  few 
decisions  reducing  wages  might  inspire  unions  to  refrain  from 
this  voluntary  registration,  thereby  rendering  the  arbitration 
courts  impotent.  However,  the  New  Zealander  is  social- 
minded,  and  the  unionist  there  is  less  likelv  to  resort  to  this 


312 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


strategy  than  the  union  labor  leader  in  the  United  States 
would  be. 

The  business  of  the  Court  of  Arbitration  grew  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  was  necessary  to  settle  many  cases  before  they 
reached  the  court;  therefore  in  1910  the  government,  thru  act 
of  parliament,  created  Conciliation  Commissioners.  These  are 
three  in  number,  one  selected  by  the  employers,  another  by 
labor  and  the  third  appointed  by  the  government,  representing 
the  interests  of  the  people.  This  board  has  been  able  to  settle 
many  disputes  and  relieve  congestion  in  the  Court  of  x^rbitra- 
tion. 

The  net  result  of  the  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Arbitration 
has  been  to  fix  a  minimum  wage  for  everybody  employed  for 
wages  in  the  Dominion,  whether  belonging  to  a  union  or  not. 


This  is  a  view  of  the  great  generators  in  the  Lake  Coleridge  hydro- 
electric plant.  Seventy-two  sites  have  been  selected  by  tiie  Dominion  gov- 
ernment for  future  hydro-electric  development.  The  government  lias  laws 
wiiicii  keep  the  water  power  rights  for  tiie  people  instead  of  permitting 
them  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  private  individuals. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LABOR  313 

However,  it  must  be  admitted  tliat  the  system  has  protected 
the  weak,  prevented  unfair  competiticjn  by  unscrupulous  em- 
ployers, regulated,  standardized  and  recorded  the  wages  and 
working  conditions  for  particular  industries  and  districts.  In 
a  period  of  rising  prices  it  has  tended  to  minimize  the  loss 
suffered  by  wage  earners  as  a  result  of  the  decrease  in  the 
purchasing  power  of  money.  In  this  respect  the  arbitration 
laws  have  been  beneficial. 

The  princii)lc  of  an  eight-hour  working  day  was  first  adopt- 
ed by  general  practice — by  legislation  in  some  cases — but  now 
no  employer  would  think  of  returning  to  a  longer  day.  It 
certainly  has  worked  well  and  perhaps  has  an  influence  of 
longevity,  as  the  average  life  of  the  white  man  there  is  eight 
years  longer  than  in  the  United  States. 

In  1900  a  workmen's  compensation  act  was  passed,  which 
insures  workers'  lives  or  against  permanent  disability,  to  the 
extent  of  $3,750.  As  this  becomes  the  employer's  risk  he  not 
only  insures  against  it,  but  is  careful  that  the  conditions  under 
which  his  employes  work  do  not  expose  them  to  any  extraor- 
dinary risk  due  to  his  negligence,  for  in  that  case  he  can  be 
sued  for  additional  damages  by  the  person  injured  or  by  the 
estate  of  the  person  killed.  We  have  similar  laws  in  some  of 
our  own  states. 

I  look  for  the  minimum  of  trouble  between  employers  and 
employes  in  New  Zealand  once  the  country  becomes  dry.  The 
efficiency  of  labor  will  be  greatly  improved.  The  "go  slow" 
policy,  which  was  founded  on  the  inability  of  the  booze  fighter 
to  keep  up,  will  disappear. 

New  Zealand  is  more  universally  unionized  than  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  Even  the  reporters  on  the  newspapers 
belong  to  a  union  and  work  only  eight  hours  a  day.  The 
destiny  of  any  country  depends  to  a  large  extent  upon  the 
reliability  of  its  press. 

It  is  evident  that  New  Zealand  is  headed  right.  The  gov- 
ernment and  the  people  are  working  closely  together,  yet 
there  are  two  prominent  examples  of  bad  conditions  which  so 
far  they  have  been  unable  to  cure,  and  which  they  generally 


314 


NEJJ'  ZEALAND 


admit  are  hurting  the  country.  One  is  booze  and  the  other 
is  the  P.  and  O.  steamship  monopoly.  This  corporation,  an 
Enghsh  company,  owns  the  Union  Steamship  Company  stock 


Tile  sccuiul  largest  hydro-clcctric  clfvclopniciU  in  New  Zealand  is  at 
Waipori  Falls,  near  Dunedin.  The  i)h()t()Krapli  shows  a  part  of  the 
jKAVcr  iiousc.  Because  of  olu'ap  powt-r  thus  a\ailahle,  Dnni  din's  indus- 
trial future  is  assured. 


(;(^r/iRXMiiN'r  jxn  l.iiior  315 

and  iicarl)'  all  llic  dIIkt  stcaiiishi])  t-()in])anic's  doiiit;-  llie  ship- 
pinf^  business  of  New  Zealand.  Twenty-tive  per  cent  of  the 
net  profits  of  all  New  Zealand  is  sucked  into  the  treasury  of 
this  corporation  thru  excessive  rates.  In  addilion,  the  service 
on  the  ships  is  bad  ;  in  fact  so  bad  that  even  the  stewards  were 
on  strike  all  the  time  1  was  in  New  Zealand  because  their  living 
(juarters  and  conditions — not  their  wages  and  hours — were 
unbearable.  Since  this  corporation  got  control,  prices  have 
been  advanced  500  per  cent.  The  shipping  public  states  that 
100  per  cent  would  have  been  a  proper  war  condition  increase. 
If  the  New  Zealand  government  could  tax  the  foreign-owned 
corporations  the  same  as  she  does  absentee  landlords  she  might 
force  the  shii)ping  business  back  to  her  own  country  again. 

Prohibition  was  lost  in  New  Zealand  at  the  last  election  by 
only  3,000  votes.  Every  saloon  in  the  Dominion  must  pretend 
to  be  a  hotel,  in  other  words,  a  public  house,  so  the  saloons 
are  called  "pubs."  For  sixty  days  before  the  last  election 
nearly  everybody  in  the  country  had  free  drinks.  As  it  is 
necessary  to  have  a  room  in  the  "pub"  in  order  to  get  drinks 
after  six  o'clock  or  on  Sunday,  one  can  imagine  the  conditions 
of  immorality  as  well  as  drunkenness  that  exists. 

The  leaders  of  the  labor  unions  are  coming  to  realize  that 
high  wages  will  do  the  workingman  no  good  as  long  as  there 
are  "pubs." 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  prohibition  will  carry  at  the 
next  election,  for  the  union  leaders  are  joining  in  with  the 
churches  and  right-thinking  citizens  on  this  subject.  One 
hears  many  diiferent  tales  of  the  effect  of  prohibition  in  our 
own  country  as  told  by  the  friends  of  liquor  over  there.  The 
medical  profession  in  New  Zealand  generally  favors  prohibi- 
tion. They  say  that  the  use  of  alcohol  causes  an  alarming 
amount  of  insanity.  Every  judge  I  talked  with,  from  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  to  a  country  magistrate,  stated  that  the 
increase  of  crime  was  due  to  alcohol.  New  Zealand  is  going 
dry,  because  the  government  is  of  the  people  for  the  good  of 
the  people,  and  most  of  them  are  sound-thinking  people. 

On  an  asset  and  liability  basis — -or  being  worth  more  than 


3i6 


NEW  ZEALAND 


she  owes,  not  including  personal  property — New  Zealand  is 
solvent.  Her  liabilities  consist  of  one  hundred  million  pounds 
which  she  owed  before  the  war  and  which  is  now  two  hundred 
million.  Her  quick  assets  consist  of  a  sinking  fund  of 
twenty  million  pounds  toward  paying  off  the  war  debt. 
Second,  the  government-owned  railways,  telegraphs  and  tele- 
phones,  as  well   as  the  postoffice  buildings,  which  originally 


These  ])iclures  of  tlie  ducks  and  water  front  in  W'ellinf^ton  are  t \  pieal 
scenes  in  New  Zealand  ports.  The  P.  and  O.  steamsliip  monopoly  is  one 
Kreat  handicap  to  commerce  developments.  It  is  estimated  that  twenty- 
five  ])er  cent  of  the  net  profits  of  New  Zealand  goes  to  this  shipping  trust 
thru  excessive  rates. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  LABOR 


317 


"-'^^"'■'■'-■^3&l^JS;iS^^^: 


Tliis   is   the  girls'   high    school    in   Duncdin   and   reflects    New   Zealand's 
progressive  attitude  toward  public  instruction. 

cost  seventy  million  i)()un(ls  and  on  the  present  basis  of  cost 
would  be  valued  at  twice  that. 

Third,  the  government  owns  millions  of  acres  of  land,  some 
of  it  worth  as  much  as  $300  an  acre. 

Fourth,  the  state  life  and  fire  insurance  companies  and  the 
Public  Trust  Office  now  have  luillions  of  pounds  sterling  as 
assets  to  offset  part  of  the  liability  the  government  may  have 
created  in  war. 

Fifth,  the  water  power  development  or  possible  hydraulic 
developments,  as  well  as  those  already  in  existence,  are  owned 
by  the  government,  and  if  it  wished  to  operate  them  on  a  profit 
basis  they  alone  would  pay  the  interest  on  the  national  debt. 
However,  it  has  been  the  policy  of  the  government  to  furnish 
all  communities  with  light,  heat  and  power  at  a  price  slightly 
above  the  cost  of  production.  They  have  the  cheapest  light 
and  power  of  any  country  in  the  world. 

If  New  Zealand  were  cut  oft"  from  the  rest  of  the  world 
and  had  to  make  everything  for  herself,  she  could  get  along 
nicely  with  the  minerals  found  in  her  own  country.  If  she 
used  her  hydro-electric  power  to  the  fullest  extent  it  would  be 
necessary  for  her  to  become  an  exporting  nation.  In  that  case 
she    would    have    to    import    considerable    raw    stock.      The 


,i8 


XlilJ-  ZEALAND 


The  "little  red  schoolhouse"  in  New  Zealand  isn't  always  red,  but  it 
is  efficient,  and,  judging"  from  the  picture,  well  patronized.  There  are 
2.375  primary  schools,  and  attendance  is  compulsory  for  children  between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen. 

government  has  picked  out  .seventy-two  sites  where  large  hydro- 
electric developments  can  be  made.  So  far  only  two  large 
installations  have  been  completed.  It  was  estimated  that  there 
is  possible  development  in  sight  of  one  horse  power  for  every 
man,  woman  and  child  in  New  Zealand.  As  the  world  grows 
short  of  coal  for  light,  heat  and  power.  New  Zealand,  with  her 
wonderful  water  power,  may  become  one  of  the  leading  manu- 
facturing nations  of  the  world. 

A  country  to  be  financially  responsil)le  must  have  sotnid 
baniss  and  the  public  nnist  have  contidcnce  in  their  banking 
system.  J^very  bit  of  jiaper  money  you  tind  in  New  Zealand 
is  good.  There  are  six  banks  of  issue  in  New  Zealand,  or,  in 
(jther  words,  si.x  banks  wbicli  arc  allowed  to  print  and  c-irculate 
pa[)er  money.  Vov  every  dollar  printed  there  must  ])e  a  deposit 
of  a  like  amount  with  the  Dominion  government,  in  coin  or 


GOVRRNMIINT  AND  LABOR 


319 


government  bonds.  At  least  one-third  must  l)e  in  gold  coin. 
Until  the  war  you  could  exchange  paper  mcjucy  for  gold. 
After  the  war  started  il  became  evident  that  many  would  try 
either  to  hoard  gold  or  try  to  get  it  out  of  the  country,  which 
was  contrary  to  law.  So  the  government  declared  all  ])aper 
money  legal  tender  and  refused  to  permit  any  gold  to  leave 
the  treasury.  In  this  way  New  Zealand  has  held  on  to  the 
greater  part  of  her  gold,  and  this  explains  why  the  country 
is  in  such  good  financial  condition. 

Education  at  the  public  schools  is  free,  compulsory  and 
purely  secular.  Attendance  at  a  registered  school  is  required 
of  all  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fourteen,  except 
when  special  exemptions  are  granted. 

The   iM'imary   schools   number   2.2,^^,   while   the   registered 


fifxtjMxm.'faLiMrMuim'Mrm.' 


New  Zealand  has  many  superior  colleges  and  technical  schools.    The  pho- 
tograph shows  a  part  of  Canterbury  University,  in  Christchurch. 


320 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


private  primary  schools  are  over  two  hundred.  There  are 
thirty-four  endowed  colleges,  grammar  and  high  schools  and 
eight  technical  schools.  Industrial  schools,  both  state  and 
private,  number  twelve,  and  the  state  has  schools  for  the  deaf, 
the  blind  and  for  backward  children. 

Higher  education  is  provided  for  in  the  four  universities 
which  are  affiliated  as  the  University  of  New  Zealand.  They 
are  located  at  the  four  large  cities,  Auckland,  Wellington, 
Christchurch  and  Dunedin,  and  each  has  a  specialty  in  technical 
training.  At  Dunedin  is  located  the  one  medical  school  in  the 
Dominion.  The  other  universities  specialize  in  engineering, 
commerce,  law,  and  navigation.  Ten  per  cent  of  all  the 
land  in  New  Zealand  originally  was  set  aside  to  create  a 
school  fund. 


New  Zealand  land  laws  have  been  drafted  Id  enconra.ne  the  farmer 
who  farms  tlie  soil  and  to  diseourane  the  land  nionoijolist  who  farms 
farmers.  This  is  a  picture  of  a  settler's  iirst  homestead  on  a  hush 
clearing. 


CHAPTER  V 


GOVERNMENT-OPERATED   INDUSTRIES 

IN  THE  United  Slates  Inisincss  men  are  very  wary  of  gov- 
ernment ownership.  They  are  apt  to  dash  madly  for  cover 
if  any  one  seriously  suggests  government  participation,  in  any 
form,  in  business.  Their  attitude  in  this  particular  always 
reminds  me  of  one  of  my  experiences  in  East  Africa.  I 
had  taken  an  expe- 
dition into  the  jun- 
gles to  get  pictures 
of  the  wild  animals 
in  their  native 
haunts.  On  this  oc- 
casion Major  Out- 
ram,  famous  b  i  g 
game  hunter  who 
but  recently  died  in 
the  Mombasa  Hos- 
pital from  injuries 
sustained  when  he 
rescued  a  native 
from  a  wounded 
lion,  served  me  as 
guide  and  was  in 
charge  of  two  or 
three  hundred  na- 
tives who  made  a 
drive  over  an  ex- 
tended territory  to 
work  the  wild  game  New  Zealand  trains  are  operated  by  a  modern  block 
system,  and  this  is  a  typical  signal  tower  on  the  trunk 
up  to  our  cameras,  lines.  A  towerman  once  obligingly  stopped  a  train  for 
Mai  or  O  U  t  r  a  m  ^  passenger  who  was  running  after  it.  A  justice  of  the 
•'      _  _  peace  who  was  on  the  train  promptly  fined  the  belated 

knew     his     business,    passenger  for  trespassing  on  the  right-of-way. 


321 


Z22  NEW  ZEALAND 

and  also,  he  knew  how  to  handle  natives.  The  drive  was 
progressing  beyond  our  expeetations.  The  natives  were  closing 
in.  and  at  the  edge  of  the  clearing  numerous  jungle  animals 
were  showing  themselves.  The  sight  of  them  was  too  nuich 
for  my  camera  man.  and.  in  his  excitement,  intending  to  signal 
the  natives  that  all  was  in  readiness  for  the  final  rush  that 
would  drive  the  animals  into  the  open,  he  pulled  his  revolver 
and  fired.  In  the  same  instant  we  saw  the  flash  of  hundreds 
of  tails  and  heard  a  fearful  commotion,  and  then  all  was  quiet. 
Our  animals  had  bolted,  broken  thru  the  line  of  native  beaters 
and  were  gone.  Ala j or  Outram  was  about  the  sorest  man  I 
ever  saw,  but  another  drive  under  his  direction  ended  more 
auspiciously,  perhaps  because  we  saw  to  it  that  the  photogra- 
pher had  no  revolver. 

When  you  mention  government  ownership  in  the  United 
States  it  has  about  the  same  eitect  on  business  men  as  that 
revolver  shot  had  on  the  jungle  animals.  Our  so-called  "radi- 
cals" have  constantly  pointed  to  New  Zealand  as  proof  that 
government  participation  in  business  is  a  panacea  for  all  in- 
dustrial ills.  Repeatedly  I  had  heard  that  New  Zealand  was 
a  socialistic  government  and  that  it  was  following  the  jaj)- 
anese  system  of  having  the  government  own  all  the  land  and 
only  leasing  it  to  those  who  had  use  for  it. 

Having  always  been  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  necessary  to 
go  to  a  country  to  get  a  correct  viewpoint  of  its  political 
organization,  business  institutions,  living  conditions,  social 
philosophy,  climate  and  products,  I  was  not  surprised  to  dis- 
cover on  my  arrival  in  New  Zealand  that  the  facts  had  been 
distorted  to  serve  the  ])urposes  of  those  who  had  a  cause 
to  plead. 

New  Zealand  !>  neither  [ilunging  ])cllmcll  into  socialism 
nor  restraining  her  citizens  in  the  ownership  ot  such  land  as 
they  can  profitably  use.  No  doubt  llie  unfaNoiablc  reports 
circulated  in  the  United  States  have  emanated  from  our  l)ig 
trusts  and  ccjrporations  which  view  wilh  alarm  .\'ew  Zealand's 


GOVERNMENT-OPERATED  INDUSTRIES      ^2}, 


The  tek-grapli  office  at  Duncdin.  All  methods  of  communication  arc 
under  the  control  of  the  postoffice  department.  There  are  14,000  miles 
of  telegraph  lines  and  rural  telephone  lines,  which  latter  are  an  ex- 
tension of  the  telegraph  service. 

success  in  business,  as  much  as  by  our  radicals  who  have  over- 
stated this  success  in  order  to  bolster  their  arguments. 

New  Zealand  learned  early  that  you  cannot  reach  the  big 
trusts  and  corporations  thru  legislation  and  that  state  competi- 
tion is  the  only  way  inordinate  profits  and  domineering  dispo- 
sitions can  be  cvirbed. 

The  postoffice,  railroads,  telegraphs  and  telephones  are 
the  only  completely  government-owned,  controlled  and  oper- 
ated businesses  in  the  country.  That  is  because  they  are  nat- 
ural monopolies  and  must  be  operated  as  national  government 
monopolies  to  reduce  costs. 

There  are  three  shining  examples  of  businesses  into  which 
the  government  has  gone  into  competition  with  private  busi- 
ness. The  result  in  each  case  has  been  that  costs  to  the 
public  have  been  cut  a  third  and  the  government,  as  well  as 


3-24 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


r-r? 

If  :J|||||ite 

l    am  '*"'  S    ^     n     ^      "^       »w*       J^S5 

'     8S 

The  Postoffice  Building  in  Auckland  houst^'s  both  the  mail  and  telegraph 
services.     It  is  the  finest  building  of  its  kind  in  the  Dominion. 

private  corporations,  still  make  a  profit.  They  are  the  ptihlic 
trust  business,  fire  insurance  and  life  insurance. 

Every  man  or  woman  who  saves  and  acctinuilatcs  any 
property  is  most  anxious  about  how  it  is  to  be  adniinistcred  after 
death,  so  that  the  proceeds  may  reach  those  for  whom  they 
have  been  saved,  without  being  dissipated  or  lost  thru  irrespon- 
sible trtist  companies,  lawyers  or  banks.  The  cost  of  adminis- 
tering many  estates  is  almost  ecjual  to  the  amoinit  be(|ueathed. 
Trust  companies  and  banks  which  act  as  trustees  frcciucntly 
])ile  up  charges  against  the  estate  thru  employing  big  attorneys 
to  look  after  this  or  that,  and  while  a  man  may  think  he  is 
leaving  something  to  his  family,  he  would  be  shocked  if  he 
could  come  back  to  life  a  few  years  after  his  death  and  dis- 
cover his  estate  had  been  squandered  in  "administration." 

This  is  the  experience  which  the  early  New  Zealanders 
had,  and  within  twenty-five  years  after  they  had  organized  a 


GOVRRNMENT-OPRRATRD  INDUSTRIES      325 

government  of  their  own  they  had  estabhshed  a  state  trust 
office,  not  as  a  state  monopoly  but  as  a  government  enterprise 
in  competition  with  corporations  and  i)rivatc  individuals  in 
the  same  business. 

With  the  government  back  of  the  state  trust  office,  the 
public  took  no  chance,  and  a  man  could  die  knowing  that  what 
he  had  left  would  not  be  lost,  also  that  the  charges  would  be 
less  than  if  he  had  left  the  settling  of  his  estate  to  some  private 
individual,  attorney,  bank  or  trust  company. 

The  Public  Trust  Office  of  New  Zealand  was  authorized 
in  1872.  Tt  was  the  first  institution  of  its  kind  and  has  served 
as  a  model  for  the  creation  of  other  public  trust  offices  in 
various  parts  of  the  l>ritish  Empire.  The  Consolidated  Fund 
of  the  Dominion  is  obligated  to  make  good  any  loss  for  which 
a  private  trustee  would  be  responsible.  The  head  office  is 
located  at  Wellington,  the  seat  of  the  government,  and  there 
are  fourteen  branch  offices  thruout  the  Dominion,  adminis- 
tered by  deputies  to  the  Public  Trustee. 

In  connection  with  the  office  there  is  a  board,  to  whose 
directions  the  Public  Trustee  is  subject,  and  which  also  acts 
in  an  advisory  capacity  in  respect  to  all  such  matters  relating 
.  to  the  administration  or  business  of  the  Public  Trust  Office  as 
may  be  referred  to  it  by  the  Minister  of  Finance.  This  board 
controls  the  investment  of  moneys  from  time  to  time  in  the 
common  fund  of  the  Public  Trust  Office  or  otherwise  in  the 
hands  of  the  public  trustee  and  available  for  investment. 

■The  office  is  designed  mainly  to  afford,  at  low  rates  of  com- 
mission, a  secure  and  convenient  recourse  in  every  case  where 
a  person  residing  in  either  New  Zealand  or  abroad  desires  to 
make  a  will  or  to  appoint  an  agent  or  attorney  in  the  Dominion. 
In  addition  to  administering  the  estates  of  deceased  persons 
and  acting  as  attorney  or  agent,  the  office  is  required  to  under- 
take various  other  duties.  For  instance,  the  Public  Trustee 
administers  the  estates  of  all  insane  persons  for  whom  no 
guardian  has  been  appointed.  He  also  administers  various 
reserves  thruout  the  Dominion  that  have  been  set  apart  for  th.e 
benefit  of  the  native  race,  as  well  as  dealing  with  luiclainicd 


About  the  only  railroad  tliat  is  not  government  owned  in  New  Zea- 
land is  the  tram  line  built  by  timber  companies  for  lumber  hauling  and 
roads  built  to  serve  privately  owned  coal  mines.  This  is  a  typical  scene 
in  the  lumber  districts. 


GOniRNMRNT-OPIiRATI-J)   INDUSTRIliS      ^i-j 

lands  and  unclaimed  ])ropcrty.  The  custody  of  all  department 
superannuation  funds  is  placed  with  the  Public  Trustee,  who 
administers  many  of  the  larq'cr  relief  funds  subscribed  b\'  the 
public  to  alleviate  distress  caused  by  minin.j^  accidents  and 
other  disasters. 

The  Public  Trustee  also  has  duties  in  connection  with  land 
settlement,  education  reserves,  bankruptcy,  shipping  and  sea- 
men, war  regulations  and  convicts'  estates.  The  Public  Trust 
Office  is  a  department  of  the  government  service  and  the  se- 
curity and  (idclil}'  of  the  administration  is  pledged  to  main- 
tain the  integrity  of  capital  funds  placed  in  the  Public  Trust 
Office,  either  without  any  directions  for  investment  or  to  be 
invested  at  the  option  of  the  Public  IVustee  in  any  of  the 
securities  in  wdiich,  unless  expressly  prohibited,  he  may  invest 
all  ca])ital.  All  moneys  coming  into  the  office,  unless  expressly 
directed  by  the  will  or  instrument  of  the  trust,  fall  into  what 
is  called  a  common  fund,  any  deficiency  in  which  must  be 
made  good  by  the  state.  The  money  in  this  common  fund  is 
invested  by  the  Public  Trustee  in  first-class  securities  and  the 
interest  thus  earned  enables  a  common  rate  of  interest  to  be 
fixed  and  regularly  credited  to  all  estates  for  which  funds 
are  held. 

This  system  of  investment  results  in  trust  funds  earning 
as  much  as  well-conducted  bank  stocks.  The  Public  Trust 
( )ffice  has  no  interest  whatever  in  the  earnings  of  the  trust 
funds,  but  only  in  the  commission  for  distribution  and  settling 
up  of  the  trust,  which  is  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  per 
cent  of  principal  and  earnings  of  the  wdiole  estate. 

This  Public  Trust  corporation  is  entirely  separated  from 
politics  and  goes  along  just  like  a  private  institution.  It  owns 
its  own  buildings,  and  pays  the  same  government  and  local  taxes 
and  postage  that  any  private  institution  pays.  The  only  dift'er- 
ence  is  that  its  reliability  and  responsibility  is  guaranteed  by 
the  government,  and  its  customers  take  no  chances.  The 
employes  are  under  civil  service,  and  while  they  are  not  re- 
ceiving as  high  salaries  as  if  they  worked  for  private  concerns. 


328 


XEir  ZEALAND 


Mr.  J.  W.   MacDonald,   Commissioner  of  the   Public   Trustee,   who 
manages   the   Public   Trust   Office. 

they  are  sure  of  their  jobs  as  long  as  they  do  faithful  work. 

The  Public  Trust  Office  was  not  intended  originally  to 
be  a  profitable  corporation,  but  the  great  confidence  which  the 
public  has  in  it  throws  nearly  all  business  in  New  Zealand 
to  it  and  its  net  profits  now  are  over  $300,000  a  year. 

The  T'ublic  Trvist  Office  is  most  admirably  managed  by 
J.  \\  .  MacDonald,  Commissioner  of  the  Public  Trustee,  and  a 
very  high-class  attorney.  This  government-owned,  backed 
and  guaranteed  corporation  paid  an  income  tax  of  $80,000 
to  the  government  last  year.  It  has  also  every  other  tax  and 
expense  a  privately  owned  and  operated  company  would  have, 
even  down  to  the  postage  stamps  it  uses. 

Tdiere  are  six  branch  offices  in  New  Zealand  cities  where 
the  com])any  owns  its  own  buildings  and  has  salaried  employes. 
It  also  has  agents  on  commission  in  every  township.  There 
should  be  a  pu])lic  trust  like  New  Zealand's  in  every  State  in 
the  I'nited  .States. 

The    first   parliament    was  held   in    1854.      For   twenty-five 


GOVERNMENT-OPERATED  INDUSTRIES      329 

years  after  that  old  and  new  settlers  kept  up  life  insurance 
policies  in  the  home  country.  In  1865-6  there  came  a  great 
smash  in  life  insurance  companies  in  Great  Britain,  many  went 
under  and  policy  holders  lost  their  life  savings.  It  was  after 
this,  in  the  year  1870,  that  the  government  of  New  Zealand 
started  the  government-owned,  controlled  and  guaranteed  State 
Life  Insurance  Company.  All  other  life  insurance  companies 
were  permitted  to  do  business,  but  so  many  of  them  were  un- 
safe that  the  public  could  not  discriminate  and  threw  their 
business  to  the  State  Company,  until  it  carries  over  56,000 
policies  at  the  present  time.  They  bear  an  annual  ])rcniium 
income  of  $2,000,000,  with  a  total  sum  of  insurance  payable 
at  death  of  $70,000,000.  This  in  a  country  with  only  1.300,000 
population.  The  comjjany  has  accumulated  assets  of  $30,000,- 
000.  Outside  the  buildings  which  it  owns  and  occupies  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  the  money  is  invested  in  mort- 
gages on  property  and  in  government  bonds.  Also  a  large 
sum  is  kept  as  cash  on  hand. 

The  government  life  insurance  company  does  not  regulate 
the  price  of  life  policies.  That  is  a  matter  of  competition. 
But  on  accident  insurance  it  does  establish  the  rate  charged 
and  conditions  under  which  policies  are  issued  thru  a  special 
act  of  parliament,  and  all  companies  doing  accident  business 
must  conform  to  this  universal  law  and  condition. 

The  life  insurance  business  in  New  Zealand  is  very  profit- 
able. The  average  life  from  birth  to  death  of  the  white  New 
Zealander  is  eight  years  longer  than  that  of  the  average  white 
man  or  woman  in  the  United  States  and  nine  years  longer 
than  in  England.  Of  course  nobody  objects  to  paying  his  insur- 
ance even  if  he  has  to  live  eight  or  nine  years  longer  to  collect. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  government  writes  an  endowment  pol- 
icy whereby  by  paying  so  much  money  at  once  to  the  company, 
or  so  much  a  year  for  a  stated  time,  he  will  be  granted  an 
annuity  as  long  as  he  lives.  This  plan  is  not  profitable  to  the 
insurance  company,  they  say,  because  the  people  live  too  long. 


330 


NEJF  ZEALAND 


A  mudern  abattoir  in  New  Zealand.  The  government  does  not 
hesitate  to  go  into  the  packing  house  business,  but  whether  a  plant  is 
owned  by  private  or  public  interests,  it  is  subject  to  rigid  inspection  and 
regulation. 


The  [Maoris,  however,  are  not  good  risks,  for  iheir  a\erage  hfe 
is  nuich  shorter  than  tlie  white  man's. 

Other  countries  are  showing  an  increasing  interest  in  tlie 
mortahty  figures  of  New  Zealand.  I  was  fortunate  in  having 
as  a  fellow  passenger  on  the  R.  AI.  S.  Makiira.  out  of  \'an- 
couver  for  New  Zealand,  Dr.  Victor  (i.  Heiscr  of  New  York 
City,  internationally  known  as  an  authority  on  le])rosy.  lie 
probably  has  examined  more  le[)ers  than  any  other  physician 
in  the  world.  Dr.  Ileiser  ga\e  me  an  interesting  review  of 
the  experiments  which  produced  a  cure  for  lci)rosy  from 
chaulmugra  oil.  obtained  from  the  gNuocardia  tree,  found  in 
India.  Sir  Leonard  Rogers  was  one  of  the  lirsi  to  experiment 
with  chaulmugra  oil.  Ihe  chief  dinicultx-  in  successfully  treat- 
ing a  patient  wiih  ibis  oil  was  in  the  ina])ility  of  the  palienl  to 


COVERNMliNT-OPliRATEI)   INDUSTRIES      33 1 


This  is  a  view  of  the  freezing  works  at  the  Burnside  packing  plant, 
where  much  of  the  mutton  grown  in  Otago  Province  is  prepared  for 
export.  The  Dominion  government  takes  every  possible  precaution  to 
guard  the  reputation  of  New  Zealand  mutton  in  foreign  markets. 


retain  it  in  his  system.  Dr.  Isador  Dyer  of  New  Orleans,  La., 
discovered  that  the  addition  of  camphor  removed  the  nauseat- 
ing efifect  of  the  oil.  Since  this  fact  was  established  rapid 
advance  has  been  made  in  the  treatment  of  lepers,  and  today 
such  eminent  authorities  as  Dr.  Heiser  look  on  leprosy  as  a 
curable  disease  if  i)laced  under  competent  medical  care  in  its 
earlier  stages.  Since.  1914,  Dr.  Heiser  has  been  with  tlie 
International  Board  of  Health  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation, 
and  he  was  going  to  New  Zealand  to  study  health  conditions 
there  and  find  out  why  the  New  Zealander  lives  longer  than 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  now  told  you  about  three  lines  of  competitive  busi- 
ness in  which  the  government  is  engaged.  These  government 
companies  have  three  advantages  from  the  start.  First,  the 
absolute  confidence  of  the  public ;  second,  no  capital  was  in- 
vested in  the  business,  as  the  government  guarantee  was  suffi- 
cient ;  third,  the  men  hired  by  the  government  were  capable 


^^2  NEW  ZEALAND 

and  experienced,  and  also  knew  that  they  would  not  be  taken 
back  by  the  regular  companies  they  had  left  and  must  make 
good  in  the  new  enterprise. 

How  long  will  it  be  before  the  United  States  will  be  free 
enough  from  corporation  influence  to  establish  healthy  state 
competition  and  bring  the  trusts  and  combines  to  time?  Echo 
answers:     "When?" 

Until  1905  the  fire  insurance  companies  doing  business  in 
Xew  Zealand  had  a  monopoly  of  writing  all  the  fire  insur- 
ance policies.  They  were  organized  into  a  trust  the  same  as 
the  fire  insurance  companies  are  in  the  United  States,  there 
was  no  competition  and  the  public  paid  the  highest  rate  pos- 
sible. The  Rt.  Hon.  Richard  Seddon.  who  then  was  and  had 
been  for  some  time  the  Prime  Minister  of  New  Zealand, 
believed  that  the  only  way  to  regulate  fire  insurance  rates  was 
thru  state  competition — not  a  state  monopoly.  A  commission 
was  appointed  to  investigate  the  matter.  It  reported  against 
it  and  cited  a  number  of  failures  by  other  governments  which 
had  gone  into  the  fire  insurance  business.  Seddon.  however, 
insisted  upon  Parliament  incorporating  a  fire  insurance  com- 
pany, backed  by  the  state.  The  proposition  carried  by  a  small 
majority. 

The  new  state  company  began  doing  business  by  hiring 
from  the  old-established  companies  the  best  men  and  paying 
them  good  salaries.  They  did  not  start  with  the  idea  of  a 
cheaply  conducted,  politically  controlled  business  institution, 
which  is  usually  the  reason  for  the  failure  of  any  business 
in  which  municipalities,  states  or  nations  engage. 

The  first  year  the  new  state-owned  fire  insurance  company 
cut  the  rate  ten  per  cent.  The  old-established  companies  met 
that  rate  and  reduced  it  still  further,  until  the  rate  on  many 
classes  of  risks  was  thirty-three  per  cent  below  what  it  had 
been  when  the  government  entered  the  business.  This  was 
])romptly  met  l)y  a  similar  cut  by  the  government,  but  since 
llicn  there  has  been  no  reduction  in  rates  by  either. 

For  the  first  ten  years  after  the  government  started  its 
system  every  known  trick  was  brought  into  play  by  the  private 


GOVERNMENT-OPERATED  INDUSTRIES      333 


Both  the  Dominion  and  provincial  governments  go  in  for  farming, 
not  as  competitors  of  tlie  farmers,  but  as  instructors.  Much  experi- 
mental work  is  clone  along  the  line  of  dairy  farming.  One  of  the  best 
experimental  farms  in  the  Dominion  is  maintained  !)y  the  government  at 
Weraroa.   The  picture  shows  one  of  the  model  milking  sheds  on  this  farm. 


companies  against  them.  They  tried  to  boycott  the  people 
who  took  out  policies  with  the  government,  but  the  British 
sense  of  fair  play,  which  is  very  strong,  soon  took  care  of 
this.     It  only  made  business  for  the  new  company. 

This  gave  the  new  company  larger  lines  of  insurance  than 
it  was  safe  to  carry  on  any  one  risk,  for  it  is  the  policy  of  all 
sound  companies  to  limit  the  insurance  on  any  one  risk  to 
ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollars.  That  was  where  the  old 
companies  thought  they  had  the  new  one,  and  this  was  the 
hardest  proposition  it  had  to  overcome.  At  this  juncture  the 
great  Lloyd's  Insurance  of  England  came  into  the  game  and 
underwrote  all  of  the  insurance  which  the  government  fire 
insurance  company  wanted  to  pass  on  to  other  companies. 

For  ten  years  this  condition  existed.  Then  the  old  insur- 
ance companies  in  New  Zealand  got  enough  of  it.  l\iday 
they  underwrite  from  the  government  company  the  same  as 
any  other.  The  government  company  still  does  the  largest 
business  and  has  made  a  profit,  which  it  has  on  hand  as  a 
surplus,  earning  interest,  of  over  $10,000,000.  Three-fourths 
of  this  is  invested  in  high-class  securities. 

The  original  charter  under  which  the  government  company 


334  A'^ff'  ZEALAND 

operates  provided  that  when  it  had  earned  sufficient  surplus 
to  make  it  safe,  the  profits  should  be  returned  to  the  policy 
holders.  The  company  now  is  believed  to  have  reached  that 
point  and  fire  insurance  in  Xew  Zealand  will  soon  take  another 
drop,  and  policy  holders  will  be  really  working  on  a  nuitual 
basis.  Altho  this  is  a  ^overnment-owaied  and  backed  insur- 
ance company  and  policies  are  guaranteed  by  the  government 
and  employes  are  under  civil  service — which  insures  their 
positions  if  the  government  changes  from  one  party  to  an- 
other— political  influence  does  not  reach  the  company  at  all. 
and  it  is  a  well-managed  business  institution. 

The  government  also  operates  as  state  monopolies  the 
postoffice  department,  the  railroads,  telegraph  and  telephones 
and  radio  wireless.  All  methods  of  communication  are  under 
control  of  the  postal  department  and  I  found  it  most  efficiently 
conducted. 

I  have  called  it  the  postal  department.  Those  in  charge 
of  it  much  prefer  that  it  be  called  "the  service."  on  the  grounds 
that  its  many  branches  make  it  the  most  useful  organization 
in  the  country.  Evidently  the  people  think  so,  too,  for  they 
make  much  use  of  their  postal  service,  and  it  does  a  business 
of  around  $10,000,000  a  year,  making  a  profit  of  $1. 250.000. 
Compare  that  with  the  United  States  postoffice  run  at  a  loss. 

Of  the  2.350  postoffices  in  the  Dominion.  800  also  act  as 
commercial  banks  for  the  public  and  the  government.  More 
than  half  a  million  accounts  are  carried  in  the  postal  savings 
bank,  the  average  depositor  carr^-ing  a  balance  of  v$250.  De- 
posits as  small  as  twenty-five  cents  will  be  received,  but 
interest  is  paid  only  on  sums  of  five  dollars  or  over.  l)c])()sits 
up  to  $1,500  bear  interest  as  high  as  five  per  cent ;  from  $1 .500  U) 
$5,000  the  interest  is  not  over  four  i)er  cent,  while  no  interest 
is  paid  on  sums  over  $5,000.  The  postal  savings  l)ank  is  held 
in  high  esteem,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  tliat  it  carries  ten 
times  as  great  deposits  as  the  live  savings  banks  of  the  Do- 
minion, which  are  not  government  operated. 

The  postal  savings  bank  invests  its  funds  only  in  high- 
class  securities  that  can   be   realized  on   <|uickl\  ;   it   does   not 


COr/iRXMENTO/'/'h'.ir/iP  IX PI  STk'/liS      335 


Viaducts  of  steel  and .  concrete  have  replaced  the  wooden  bridges  on 
the  main  lines  of  the  government  railways.  There  are  scores  of  them, 
because  railroad  building  in  New  Zealand  is  a  difficult  task  on  account  of 
the  mountains  and  streams.  Tunnels  are  frequent.  One  of  them,  now 
under  construction  on  the  South  Island,  will  be  five  miles  long. 

deal  in  any  way  in  land,  nor  does  it  put  any  money  in  com- 
mercial ventures  of  its  own.  Virtually  every  government 
department  deposits  money  with  the  postoffice  department  and 
makes  its  payments  thru  the  postofhce.  This  does  away  with 
a  lot  of  red  tape,  as  the  department  pays  all  small  hills  of  less 
than  twenty-five  dollars,  charging  the  proper  department  for 
the  expense.  Pensions  of  all  kinds  are  paid  thru  the  postoffice, 
and  collections  are  made  in  the  same  efficient  manner,  for 
hunting  and  fishing  licenses,  premiums  on  government  insur- 
ance, and  fees  of  all  kinds. 

Telegraph  lines  were  first  operated  by  the  provincial  gov- 
ernments, but  they  were  later  taken  over  by  the  Dominion 
government,  which  extended  the  lines  to  all  parts  of  the  North 
and  South  Islands;  today  there  are  some  14,000  miles  of  tele- 
graph hnes,  counting  in  the  rural  telephone  lines,  which  are 


2>2>^ 


NEW  ZEALAND 


To  the  American,  accustomed  to  mammoth  engines 
and  ponderous  freight  cars,  some  of  the  rolling  stock 
used  on  a  New  Zealand  railroad  looks  ridiculously  small. 
When  compared  with  an  American  flat  car  this  little 
freight  truck  looks  like  a  toy. 


part  of  the  service. 
Telegraph  offices  are 
located  in  all  post- 
offices  of  any  size, 
and  are  much  used, 
as  the  rate  is  very 
reasonable,  averag- 
ing about  two  cents 
a  word  thruout  the 
islands. 

Telephone  service 
is  on  the  verge  of 
great  development 
i  n  New  Zealand. 
Even  in  a  country 
only  a  thousand 
miles     long,     where 


mail  can  be  sent  from  one  end  to  the  other  and  deliv- 
ered in  shghtly  more  than  two  days,  there  has  developed  a 
demand  for  personal  communication  by  long-distance  tele- 
phone, which  is  being  met  by  the  government  in  the  rapid 
extension  of  its  175,000  miles  of  wire.  In  the  large  centers 
of  population  automatic  telephones  are  being  installed  to 
replace  the  obsolete  crank  system  wdiich  is  generally  employed. 
There  now  are  75  central  exchanges  and  240  sub-exchanges, 
thru  which  connections  can  be  made  with  70.000  telephones, 
in  the  big  cities  the  overhead  wires  are  giving  way  to  under- 
ground circuits. 

There  is  little  telephoning  from  the  corner  drug  store  in 
New  Zealand,  for  the  government  has  installed  ])()()lhs  on  the 
street  in  all  the  principal  towns,  both  in  the  downtown  district 
and  subiu"ban  sections,  where  they  ma)-  be  used  at  charges 
ranging  from  two  to  six  cents  a  call. 

Wireless  (in  1921)  is  still  in  its  infancy  in  the  Doiuinion, 
altho  there  arc  i)owerful  stations  at  all  the  big  centers  and 
smaller  stations  at  all  the  ports.     They  are  conneiied  with  the 


COJ'ERNMRNT-OPERATED   INDUSTRIliS      337 


telegra])h  and  telephone  systems,  so  mcssaj^es  intended  for 
ships  at  sea  or  for  nearhy  islands  are  sent  forward  proniiJtly. 
There  is  agitation  now  for  the  formation  of  wireless  instruc- 
tion courses  at  one  of  the  four  universities  of  the  Dominion 
and  for  the  passage  of  laws  which  will  regulate  the  use  of 
radio  and  at  the  same  time  permit  its  development. 

New  Zealand  is  connected  by  cable  with  X'ancouvcr,  B.  C, 
Canada,  and  with  Sydney,  Australia.  The  cable  to  Vancouver 
touches  Norfolk  Island,  Fiji  and  Fanning  Lsland,  and  the  deep- 
sea  portion  of  the  cable  between  \'ancouver  and  Fanning  is 
.said  to  be  the  longest  in  the  world. 

The  manner  in  which  the  government  conducts  the  rail- 
roads in  New  Zealand  is  interesting  to  the  American.  Fresh 
from  traveling  across  the  American  continent  from  Chicago 
to  Vancouver,  Canada,  in  luxurious  broad-gauge  cars,  with 
dining  cars  and  comfortable  Pullmans,  we  were  rather  doubtful 


:'S8g|!WKH«*M*S5aHKa!srraWSHW«^^ 


Sheep  play  a  most  important  part  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Dominion. 
Tliey  make  up  a  very  large  part  of  the  freight  handled  by  the  railways. 
During  the  marketing  season  trainloads  follow  eacii  other  a  few  miles 
apart.  Many  sheep  are  shipped  from  the  bush  districts  each  year  to 
the  plains,  where  the  final  fattening  for  market  is  done. 


338 


iY£[f'  ZEALAXD 


This  is  the  railway  station  in  Dunedin,  and  it  is  the  only  one  in  the 
Dominion  which  is  a  credit  to  the  country.  Even  large  cities  have  long 
wooden  structures,  altho  plans  are  completed  for  modern  stations  at 
\\'ellington   and   Auckland. 

whether  we  were  going  to  be  comfortable  when  it  came  time 
for  us  to  take  our  first  railroad  trip  in  New  Zealand.  The 
3.000  miles  of  railroad  in  both  islands  of  the  Dominion  are 
narrow  gauge,  three  feet  six  inches  wide,  and  the  coaches  are 
only  fifty  feet  long,  and  we  suspected  that  we  were  in  for  a 
rough  time  of  it  because  of  the  mountainous  character  of  the 
c(juntry  in  the  North  Island  thru  which  we  were  to  travel. 

It  was  very  sin'prising,  therefore,  to  tind  llial  the  coaches 
rode  easily;  there  was  little  bouncing  and  we  were  ciuite  com- 
fortable. When  in  1X70  the  government  took  oxer  (he  few 
miles  of  railroad  ihen  constructed  it  was  faced  ])y  ihc  ])rol)lcm 
of  building  as  rapidly  as  possible  and  at  as  small  a  cost  as  pos- 
sible thru  a  rough  country.  The  present  standard  narrow- 
gauge  was  the  result.  It  serves  admirably,  for  the  longest  run  is 


CO  I  'F.RNMIiNT^OPF.R.ITF.n   IND  VSTRIRS      330 

the  426  miles  between  Auckland  and  Wellinj^ton,  which  rec|uires 
seventeen  hours.  On  this  run.  loo.  are  the  only  sleeping  cars  in 
the  Dominion.  They  are  not  the  roomy  affairs  we  are  used  to 
here  in  America.  The  cars  are  divided  into  compartments  with 
either  two  or  four  berths,  and  a  narnnv  hallway  running  along 
one  side  of  the  car.  When  it  is  lime  to  m,-d<e  up  the  berths 
the  passenger?  must  either  stand  in  the  hall  or  find  a  place 
in  some  other  coach.  The  same  thing  happens  in  the  morning 
when  it  is  time  to  take  up  the  berths.  It  was  a  tight  fit  for 
the  four  of  us  who  occupied  one  of  the  larger  compartments, 
especially  when  two  of  us  weighed  more  than  two  hundred 
pounds  each. 

To  assure  yourself  of  a  seat  it  is  necessary  to  make  reser- 
vations in  either  compartment  cars  or  chair  cars  when  you  buy 
your  ticket.  Then  you  have  to  be  in  your  seat  fifteen  minutes 
before  the  train  starts  if  you  want  to  hold  it  down.  Other- 
wise the  conductor,  or  guard,  takes  up  the  slip  that  shows 
the  seat  is  reserved  and  it  belongs  to  the  first  comer.  Reserva- 
tions are  not  made  for  seats  at  way  stations  except  by  tele- 
graphing ahead,  and  the  passengers  holding  chair  car  tickets, 


Tliis  is  an  interior  view  of  the  Uunedin  railway  station,  easily  the  finest 
station   in  the   Dominion. 


340 


NEJJ'  ZEALAND 


Accidents  will  happen  on  the  best  of  railways.  This 
is  the  most  common  kind  of  accident  on  New  Zealand 
roads.  In  the  hills  and  mountains  earth  and  rock  slides 
frequently  block  the  rails.  This  passenger  train  came 
along  just  in  time  to  be  caught  in  a  slide.  The  engine 
and  two  coaches  were  derailed,  but  there  were  no 
casualties. 


but  not  berth  tick- 
ets, have  a  right  to 
occtipy  seats  in  the 
sleeper  until  bed- 
time, when  they 
must  get  out  and 
h  u  n  t  seats  else- 
where. 

There  is  no  sys- 
tem on  the  New 
Zealand  railways 
for  giving  passen- 
gers "checks"  to 
show  they  have 
presented  their 
tickets.  Instead 
you  are  required  to 
produce  your  ticket 
every  hour  or  two, 
and  each  time  the 
conductor   punches 


it,  so  when  you  finally  reach  your  destination  the  ticket  looks 
like  a  sieve.  In  between  times  an  inspector  comes  around  and 
takes  a  punch  at  the  ticket,  too.  Passengers  in  the  chair  cars 
on  a  night  run  have  a  miserable  time  of  it,  for  this  ticket- 
punching  goes  on  just  the  same  during  the  night,  and  the  con- 
ductors have  to  be  pretty  diplomatic  to  avoid  ruffling  the 
feelings  of  those  whom  they  awaken  so  often.  I  found  all  the 
train  crews  with  whom  I  traveled  exceedingly  polite. 

Most  of  the  station  buildings  are  frame.  Those  at  Welhng- 
ton  and  Auckland  are  very  shabby  affairs.  The  one  at  Christ- 
church  is  a  little  better,  but  only  Dunedin,  the  smallest  of  the 
four  large  towns,  has  a  commodious  slati(»n  of  ])rick  and  stone. 
However,  no  matter  how  small  the  station,  it  is  liberally 
decorated  with  signs,  by  reading  which  it  is  an  easy  matter  to 
find  anything  you  want.  You  can't  possibly  get  on  the  wrong 
train  if  ymi  can  read.     There  are  signs  on  the  i)latf(»rni  which 


GOVERNMENT-nPF.RATRD  INDUSTRIES      341 

point  out  the  right  train,  and  the  coaches  themselves  are 
marked  on  the  sides.  A  hell  rings  half  a  minute  hefore  the 
train  pulls  out  and  }-ou  still  ha\e  time  to  get  aboard. 

The  liritish  habit  of  luuing  tea  at  frecjuent  intervals  is 
recognized  by  the  New  Zealand  railways,  and  at  many  of 
the  stations  the  train  stops  long  enough  for  every  one  to  get 
otT  and  have  his  tea  at  a  refreshment  counter.  You  may  also 
take  the  cup  of  tea  into  the  coach.  Each  dish  is  marked  with 
the  name  of  the  station  where  it  belongs  and  is  returned 
eventually. 

(ireat  care  is  exercised  by  the  engine  crews  to  run  the 
trains  smoothly.  They  glide  out  of  a  station  and  ])ick  up 
speed  without  the  jerking  and  bumping  which  we  have  to 
endure   in  America.     The  average  speed  is  between  twenty- 


Pulling  up  what  is  said  to  be  the  steepest  railroad  grade  in  the  world, 
over  the  Rmiutaka  Mountains,  where  for  three  miles  the  tracks  drop  one 
foot  in  every  fifteen.  Special  locomotives,  with  steel  shoes  to  grip  a 
center  rail  as  a  brake,  are  used  to  handle  trains  on  these  grades.  Ter- 
rific winds  sweep  these  mountains,  and  windbreaks  are  built  to  protect  the 
trains.    On  two  occasions  trains  have  been  blown  from  the  tracks. 


34^ 


NEJV  ZEALAXD 


five  and  thirty  miles  an 
hour,  akho  they  often  make 
forty  miles  on  the  level.  A 
hlock  system  is  used  to 
avoid  collisions,  and  in  the 
forty  years  they  have  heen 
operating  f  e  w  accidents 
have  occurred  and  only  four 
lives  have  been  lost. 

The  wind  caused  one 
accident  when  it  blew  over 
a  train  on  what  is  said  to 
he  the  steepest  grade  in 
Xew  Zealand.  There  is  a 
three-mile  stretch  over  the 
Rimutakas  [Mountains,  a 
few  miles  from  Wellington, 
where  the  track  drops  one 
foot  in  every  fifteen  feet. 
Special  engines  are  used 
on  the  mountain  and 
double-headers  on  the  up- 
grades. There  is  a  .sort  of 
brake,  a  kind  of  third  rail,  which  is  gripped  by  a  steel  shoe, 
that  is  used  on  the  down-grades  with  a  heavy  train.  The 
winds  which  sweep  over  the  mountain  are  so  violent  that  many 
train  sheds  have  been  built  to  protect  the  trains. 

The  Dominion  Public  \\"orks  Department  builds  all  raihvaws 
and  turns  them  over  to  the  government  when  completed.  The 
lines  now  in  operation  have  cost  $200,000,000,  .an  average  cost 
of  a  little  more  than  $60,000  per  mile,  including  all  equipment 
and  buildings.  The  railways  have  been  looked  upon  by  the 
government  more  as  adjuncts  for  the  development  of  the  coun- 
try than  as  an  investment  from  which  great  revenues  were  to 
be  derived,  and  for  many  }'ears  a  i)ront  of  tlnxe  ])er  cent  was 
.satisfactory,  any  greater  profit  being  returned  to  tlie  ])ul)lic  in 
the  shape  of  lower  rates.     iVt  the  ])rest'nt    time  ai'ound    fonr 


The  postof^ce   buikling   in    Rotorua. 


COJ'RRNMIlNT-OrnR.lTlil)   INPL'STh'l liS      343 


1  rankiiin  junction,  ;i  typical   New  Zealand  railway  station. 

and  one-half  per  cent  is  the  profit.  The  passenger  rate  is  two 
cents  a  mile. 

The  government  seems  anxious  that  the  people  of  New 
Zealand  shall  see  their  own  country  and  it  encourages  the 
young  people  hy  giving  them  a  reduced  rate  if  they  are  under 
twenty-one  and  are  learning  a  trade  or  business  and  must 
travel  by  rail  to  work.  Reduced  fares  are  also  given  students, 
and  in  the  outlying  districts  where  there  are  no  schools  free 
fare  is  issued  lo  children  within  a  limit  of  sixty  miles. 

There  is  a  special  ticket  which  costs  $80.00  on  which  one 
can  travel  to  difl:'erent  parts  of  the  country  within  a  period  of 
seven  weeks.  You  can  travel  on  this  ticket  night  and  day  con- 
tinuously for  seven  weeks.  There  is  no  limit  on  the  mileage. 
Families  of  not  less  than  four  persons  may  travel  at  two-thirds 
the  regular  rate  when  they  buy  a  season  ticket  to  be  used  in 
going  to  and  from  work.  There  are  many  cases  in  which  one 
may  get  a  reduced  rate,  all  calculated  to  help  the  3'oung  and 
those  not  financially  able  to  pa)'.  The  railroad  is  run  fur  the 
people,  not  the  stockholders. 

Those  traveling  from  the  North  to  the  South  Island,  or 
vice  versa,  are  promjith'  transferred  from  the  train  to  a  com- 


344  NEJV  ZEALAND 

fortable  steamer  which  makes  the  175  miles  between  Welling- 
ton and  Lyttleton  in  an  overnight  run.  The  government  has 
established  shops  in  all  of  the  large  cities  for  making  coaches, 
and  locomotives  are  made  on  both  islands.  To  operate  the 
railways,  between  12,000  and  15.000  are  employed.  They  are 
regulated  under  special  laws,  including  a  superannuation  fund 
for  veteran  employes. 

To  serve  private  industries,  mostly  coal  mines,  there  is 
a  total  of  136  miles  of  privately  owned  railways  in  the  Do- 
minion. These  connect  with  the  government  railways.  When 
the  railroads  in  New  Zealand  are  operated  by  the  cheap  water 
power — turned  into  electricity — they  will  be  run  at  a  minimum 
of  expense. 

If  the  postoffice,  telegraphs,  telephones  and  railways  did 
not  pay  a  cent  of  interest  on  the  investment,  but  only  on  the 
upkeep,  they  would  be  profitable  businesses  because  they  be- 
long to  the  people  and  everybody  has  the  common  use  of  lliem 
at  cost  price.  In  New  Zealand  when  you  ride  on  a  train  you 
do  not  pay  interest  on  watered  stock. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Till-:    CITIES    OF    NEW    ZEALAND 

IF  AN  American  were  set  down  in  Queen  Street,  the  prin- 
cipal business  thorofare  of  Auckland,  New  Zealand,  with 
its  140,000  population,  and  asked  to  guess  where  he  was,  he 
might  very  easily,  after  a  casual  look  around  him,  think  he 
was  in  one  of  our  own  typical  Southern  cities — say  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  or  Atlanta,  Georgia.  The  people  passing  would 
look  but  slightly  different  from  the  people  at  home,  the  shop 
windows  would  display  familiar  brands  of  goods,  and  the 
automobiles  in  the  street  would  bear  well-known  names. 

Auckland  has  the  languor  and  ease  which  marks  all  coun- 
tries in  the  southern  half  of  the  world.  It  is  thirty  miles 
from  the  open  sea  to  the  inner  harbor  with  its  five  and  one-half 
miles  of  placid  water.  Your  ship  steams  along  thru  the 
Rangitoto  Channel  between  towering  headlands  and  sheer, 
forbidding  cliffs,  which  offer  the  traveler  no  intimation  that 
concealed  in  them  are  huge  guns  calculated  to  sweep  an  enemy 
fleet  from  the  waters.  The  ship  suddenly  rounds  North  Head 
into  the  harbor  proper,  and  Auckland,  on  the  south  shore  of 
Waitemata  harbor,  comes  into  view.  One  thing  is  impressed 
upon  your  mind — and  later  upon  the  muscles  of  your  legs — 
the  city  is  built  upon  hills. 

Auckland  does  not  present  a  magnificent  sight  from  the 
water.  In  fact,  it  is  rather  commonplace.  The  waterfront 
is  not  a  thing  of  beauty.  Only  a  few  years  ago  it  w^as  mud 
flats  and  the  authorities  are  still  too  busy  reclaiming  land  to 
add  to  the  small  area  of  level  ground  in  the  city  to  devote 
much  attention  to  beautifying  it.  As  fast  as  the  land  is  made 
it  is  being  taken  up  with  wharfs  and  docks  and  warehouses. 

The  nine  wharfs  which  now  are  in  use  are  too  few  to 
care  for  the  shipping  which  makes  Auckland  the  trade  center 
of  the  Pacific  islands.     Last  year  it  set  a  record  for  increasing 

345 


An  airplaiH'  sicw  of 


Christchurch,  New  Zealand. 


348 


NEJJ'  ZEALAND 


A  view   in   Queen   Street,  Auckland. 


imports  over  its  previous  high  mark,  bringing  the  total  up  to 
around  $60,000,000.  The  exports  from  Auckland  in  1920 
were  in  the  neighborhood  of  $50,000,000. 

Our  boat  was  warped  into  the  dock  after  a  delay  of  se^•eral 
hours  due  to  the  painstaking  inspections  by  the  health  and 
customs  authorities.  New  Zealand  is  careful  to  maintain  the 
conditions  which  have  made  her  the  healthiest  country  in  the 
world,  and  at  Auckland,  the  principal  port  by  which  people 
from  other  lands  arrive,  the  examination  is  not  casual.  The 
immigration  authorities  are  just  and  strict,  and  every  passen- 
ger is  required  to  set  down  in  black  and  white  all  details  about 
himself  before  he  is  allowed  to  land. 

My  experience  was  an  example.  My  American  passport 
was  taken  up,  to  be  returned  to  me  only  when  1  was  ready  to 
leave  the  country.  This  is  ihc  tirst  time  I  ever  ])arlc(l  with 
my  United  States  passport  in  any  other  country  in  the  world 
except  Russia.  In  its  stead  I  was  given  a  i)crmit  to  remain 
in  tlic  country  three  montlis  and  this  permit  bore  ni\-  jxTsonal 


NliW  ZIIALAND   CITIES 


349 


Docks  and  water  front  of  Auckland. 


description  and  the  name  of  the  liotel  at  which  I  was  to  make 
my  first  stop. 

After  the  first  day  the  visitor  to  Auckland  quits  trying  to 
get  anywhere  on  foot.  He  calls  one  of  the  motor  cars,  which 
are  always  to  be  had  at  reasonable  rates  when  one  considers 
that  all  the  gasoline  is  brought  from  the  United  States  and 
sells  in  New  Zealand  at  one  dollar  a  gallon.  Climbing  the 
hills  upon  which  the  city  is  built  is  a  trying  proposition  to  the 
"new  chum,"  as  they  call  a  recent  arrival.  Queen  Street,  upon 
which  the  principal  retail  business  is  located,  is  the  nearest 
level  of  any  of  the  streets. 

When  Auckland  was  originally  settled,  Queen  Street  was 
a  gully  and  its  banks  were  dug  away  to  make  the  main  street 
of  the  settlement.  As  the  town  grew  the  new  buildings  were 
set  upon  the  hillsides — the  third  story  being  level  in  the  rear 
with  the  ground — and  the  winding  paths  which  led  to  them 
gradually  became  narrow  streets,  little  more  than  alleys,  and 
running  at  all  kinds  of  angles  into  each  other. 

The  authorities  in  the  early  days  of  Auckland  did  not 
look  into  the  future,  and  the  owner  of  a  bit  of  ground  was 
permitted   to   sub-divide   it    into  lots  and   streets  without   re- 


350 


XEW  ZEALAND 


strictions.     As  a  result  the  city  is  a  tangled  maze  to  the  new- 
comer. 

If  you  choose  to  take  a  street  car  you  can  get  very  good 
service  to  any  of  the  dozen  boroughs,  or  suburban  towns, 
which  are  located  within  a  radius  of  eight  miles  of  Auckland 
proper.  Ferry  boats  will  take  you  to  still  others  located  on 
the  harbor.  The  street  cars  all  start  from  the  same  place,  the 
foot  of  Queen  Street,  and  fare  is  paid  in  accordance  with  the 
distance  you  travel.  Each  line  is  divided  into  sections  and  it 
costs  two  cents  to  travel  each  zone.      The  lono^est  ride  in  one 


In  this  picture  Mr.  Boycc  is  "facing-  the  cannon"  in  Albert  Park, 
Auckland.  This  field  piece  marks  the  si)ot  where  other  cannon  were 
planted  in  the  early  history  of  the  city  to  defend  it  against  raids  of 
hostile  Maoris.  On  this  hill  were  located  the  barracks  of  several  regi- 
ments famous  in  the  pioneer  days  of  the  settlement. 


NEW  ZEALAND   CITIES  351 

direction  on  the  thirty-five  miles  of  car  lines  is  eight  miles  for 
twelve  cents.     The  shortest  ride  is  two  cents. 

The  cars  are  narrower  than  tho.se  in  common  use  in  the 
United  States.  They  are  divided  by  a  partition,  which  sep- 
arates the  smokers  from  other  passengers.  There  is  no  stand- 
ing on  platforms;  there  is  no  room,  in  the  first  place,  as  part 
is  cut  off  for  the  use  of  the  conductor  or  motornian.  'J'here 
are  no  negroes  seated  alongside  of  you. 

Most  of  the  streets  are  well  paved  with  asphalt  or  concrete. 
They  tried  out  an  experiment  here  which  made  them  rather 
ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  the  entire  country,  that  is,  paving  with 
rock  from  the  extinct  volcanoes  which  surround  the  city. 
When  it  was  dry  the  city  was  a  swirl  of  volcanic  dust  and 
when  it  was  wet  the  streets  were  huge  mud  puddles. 

At  night  the  streets  are  well  lighted  with  both  electricity 
and  gas.  The  city  owns  the  plant  which  supplies  electric  lights 
and  power,  but  the  gas  company  is  a  private  enterprise.  Half 
of  the  street  lights  are  turned  out  at  midnight.  The  down- 
town section  is  practically  deserted  at  ten  o'clock  at  night. 
This  is  probably  due  to  the  short  business  hours,  usually  never 
more  than  seven  hours.  The  show  windows  are  not  generally 
lighted  at  night.    On  Saturday  all  business  closes  at  one  o'clock. 

Aucklanders  take  things  easy  and  they  seem  to  like  spacious 
grounds  around  their  homes,  spending  a  lot  of  time  and  care 
on  them.  Owing  to  the  high  cost  of  lumber  and  few  servants 
the  homes  are  mostly  small  houses,  with  roofs  of  corrugated 
iron. 

The  city,  because  of  its  natural  slope,  is  splendidly  drained. 
Sewage  is  collected  in  a  tank,  chemically  treated  and  then  dis- 
charged into  the  sea  at  ebb  tide  so  that  it  is  carried  out  of 
the  harbor.  Sixteen  miles  back  in  the  hills  are  two  great  reser- 
voirs with  a  combined  capacity  of  770,000,000  gallons,  which 
supply  the  city  with  water.  Rubbish  is  burned  in  an  incinerator, 
and  health  is  further  protected  by  having  the  abattoirs  for  the 
killing  of  hogs  and  sheep  located  seven  miles  out.  City-owned 
fish  and  vegetable  markets  have  recently  been  introduced. 

Public    swimming   pools    have   been    built    for   those    who 


y:>^ 


NEW  ZEALAND 


;.  -H 

-*^^»*'r75*^    .■:                                             ■  ".f^i^H^^^Hl 

1    "     .'■-..     ^'^i^-...           •:'" 

3i 

n 

■    *  '-  ^-vJ?^ 

^'.r_:        ^ 

...-ii?^^- 

9    c 

<<> 

^^^^ 

A  view  of  Auckland   and  its  harbor,  taken   from  an  airplane. 


prefer  them  to  a  plunge  at  the  beaches.  Twelve  public  parks 
offer  recreation  spots. 

Sunday  is  indeed  a  day  of  rest  in  Auckland,  as  all  business 
is  suspended  and  the  people  spend  the  day  in  the  open.  I 
hired  a  motor  car  and  visited  several  places  of  interest  in  the 
vicinity.  Many  of  the  hills  are  historic,  as  they  were  the 
scenes  of  battles  in  the  early  days  when  Auckland  was  one 
of  the  centers  of  the  warfare  between  rival  tribes  of  Maoris, 
and  later  between  the  Maoris  and  the  whites. 

Of  them  all  perhaps  the  most  famous  is  One  Tree  Hill, 
where  Maungakieki  Pah,  the  most  formidable  of  the  old  Maori 
forts,  was  twice  taken  by  enemy  tribes.  ( )nce  it  fell  before 
the  crafty  attack  of  Chief  llongi,  who  has  been  called  the 
Maori   NapolcfMi.  and  who  i)Ut  to  death  hundreds  of  the  de- 


A  /•,//■  /.i:.i/..i\n  cm  US 


r:>^ 


fenders  of  the  fort  when 
it  fell.  Many  years  later 
another  (^Id  war  dog.  Te 
VVhaakiaki,  staged  a  simi- 
lar massacre.  The  caves 
of  One  Tree  Hill  still  oc- 
casionally yield  up  the 
hones  of  the  victims  of  its 
hloody  days. 

In  spite  of   its  natural 
advantages,  Auckland  was 
shunned  by  the  white  man 
long     after     the     bleak 
shores  of  the  north  end  of 
the    peninsula    had    been 
settled.        Finally,      how- 
ever,   a    small    settlement 
This   is   a   picture   of   the   American   barkcntine    sprang  up  there,   and  be- 
E.  R.  Sterling  of  Blaine,  Wash.,  named  after  its    ^q^q      lono"      the      capital 
owner  and  commander,  who  is  proud  of  the  fact  '^  '  ^ 

that  he  is  skipper  of  the  largest  sailing  ship  which  which  up  to  then  had  been 
plies  the  South  Pacific.  The  Sterling  put  into  located  at  Russell,  was 
Auckland  for  Christmas  and  unloaded  a  cargo  from  .         .       ,  ,       ,       ^^  ... 

Australia.  moved  to  Auckland,     htill 

later  the  capital  was 
moved  to  Wellington,  which  was  more  centrally  located  and 
which  took  advantage  of  the  fact  that  the  gold  rushes  had  well- 
nigh  depopulated  Auckland  and  robbed  it  of  its  honor  as  the 
center  of  population  of  New  Zealand. 

This  is  being  written  in  January,  wdiich  corresponds  to  our 
month  of  July  in  the  United  States.  Auckland  is  about  as 
far  south  of  the  equator  as  Washington,  D.  C,  is  north  of  it, 
and  the  climate  at  this  time  of  year  is  delightful.  But  the 
residents  of  the  city  are  not  wearing  the  thin,  light  clothing 
which  we  associate  with  July  back  home.  I  have  seen  but 
few  men  who  leave  off  their  vests.  The  women  wear  loose, 
full  skirts  which  hang  modestly  to  their  shoetops,  and  they 
shield  their  faces  from  the  sun  with  wide-brimmed  hats. 

I  like  the  people  of  Auckland — they  are  so  friendly.    From 


354 


NEIV  ZEALAND 


the  official  who  thanks  you  for  submitting  your  passport,  to 
the  waiter  whose  profifer  of  vegetables  you  have  just  declined, 
they  are  polite  in  the  extreme.  There  is  no  objectionable 
display  of  authority.  Clerks  in  stores  are  not  cross,  and  the 
auto  driver  who  brings  his  car  to  a  stop  because  you  are  con- 
fused by  the  unusualness  of  running  the  traffic  on  the  left-hand 
side  of  the  street,  does  not  curse  you,  but  smiles  instead. 

Polite,  agreeable  and  accommodating  as  they  are,  however, 
they  do  not  yield  to  American  hurry.  Your  laundry  won't 
come  back  inside  of  a  week;  suits  which  need  pressing  will 
come  back  in  a  few  days  if  you  are  insistent  enough.  Auck- 
land is  restful  and  nerve-quieting,  and  it  soon  becomes  no 
hard  task  to  take  a  nap  once  a  day  and  sleep  soundly  at  night 
in  the  bargain. 

Its  nearness  to  the  kauri   forests  has  given  to  Auckland 


Looking  over  Auckland  from  a  building  near  the  water  front.  In 
the  distance  is  Mount  I'.den,  liigliest  of  the  extinct  volcanoes  which  sur- 
round the  city.     Auckland  is  a  city  of  hills. 


NEJV  ZEALAND   CITIES 


355 


several  industries  allied  with 
the  timber  business,  such 
as  shipbuilding,  sash  and 
door  making  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  varnish.  Near 
the  city  are  the  great  dairy- 
ing and  farming  districts, 
and  the  resulting  products 
— cheese,  butter,  m  eat, 
hides,  v^ool — are  among  the 
principal  exports.  Most  of 
the  material  is  shipped  in 
its  raw  state,  but  Auckland 
has  rope  and  twine  facto- 
ries and  other  industries  on 
a  small  scale  for  home  sup- 
ply. On  the  shores  of  the 
bay  are  the  only  sugar  re- 
fineries in  all  New  Zealand. 
Pipe  clay  is  plentiful  on 
the  peninsulas,  providing 
the  raw  material  for  the 
Ijrick  and  tile  and  pottery 
industries  of  Auckland.  Gold  mines  and  sulphur  mines  and 
a  few  deposits  of  coal  of  fair  quality  are  located  near  the  city. 

Wellington  is  the  capital  of  the  Dominion  of  New  Zealand, 
as  well  as  its  largest  city.  Its  business  portion  lies  on  made 
ground  wrested  from  the  water  of  Port  Nicholson,  which  is 
reached  thru  stormy  Cook's  Strait.  Its  residential  section 
straggles  back  from  the  water  and  is  scattered  among  hills 
so  abrupt  and  steep  that  a  straight  climb  is  impossible,  and 
all  streets  twist  and  zigzag  to  get  to  the  various  terraces,  some 
700  feet  above  the  sea.  Recently  surburban  towns  have  been 
taken  inside  the  city  limits  and  Greater  Wellington  now  covers 
1,600  acres  of  ground.  Over  this  big  area  is  spread  a  popula- 
tion of  100,000. 

Auckland   has   never   quite    forgiven   Wellington   the    fact 


From  this  tower  in  the  business  section 
Auckland's  street  car  traffic  is  controlled.  All 
cars  pass  this  tower,  where  a  record  of  sched- 
ules is  kept.  Fares  are  charged  according  to 
distance  traveled,  lines  being  divided  into  sec- 
tions over  which  passengers  may  ride  for  two 
cents  a  section.  The  longest  ride  in  one  direc- 
tion is  eight  miles  for  twelve  cents. 


13^J 


A7:7r  ZE.ILASL) 


that  the  seat  of  government  was  taken  from  Auckland  to 
Welhngton  nearly  sixty  years  ago,  but  the  latter  place  seems 
far  better  adapted  for  a  capital  because  of  its  central  location 
at  the  southern  end  of  North  Island  and  within  easy  reach 
of  all  parts  of  the  Dominion. 

\\'ellington's  history  begins  about  1839,  with  the  arrival 
of  men  representing  the  New  Zealand  Company,  which  had 
a  scheme  for  colonization  of  the  country.  The  presence  at 
Port  Nicholson  of  a  number  of  traders  already  had  attracted 
many  rough  characters,  and  the  better  element  among  the  new 
arrivals  soon  formed  a  little  government,  which.  howeA'er,  the 
crown  officials  at  Auckland,  then  the  capital,  declared  was 
illegal.     So  troops  were  sent  down  to  oust  the  self-appointed 


A  panoramic  viiw  of  Wi'llin^ton 


.V/'"//'  Zli.lL.lNI)   CITII-.S 


r:^7 


vigilantes,  b.ut  to  their  surprise  they  were  received  with  ihree 
eheers  and  the  expected  clash  did  not  materialize. 

For  the  next  year  or  two  the  little  town  was  kept  busy 
by  hostile  Maoris  and  it  was  not  until  the  last  trouble  with 
them  was  over,  in  1846,  that  the  settlers  began  to  spread  out 
from  the  narrow  strip  of  beach  upon  which  the  first  houses 
were  l)uilt  and  to  make  their  homes  ui)()n  the  liills  circling 
the  harbor  and  the  gullies  between  these  hills. 

Wellington's  early  days  were  days  of  struggle.  The  very 
hilly  land  made  the  city's  growth  slow%  but  Providence  took  a 
hand  in  1853  with  an  earthquake,  which,  while  it  did  much 
damage,  also  did  a  great  deal  of  good,  for  it  dried  uj)  a  swampy 
area   near  the   little   settlement,   raised   the   whole   coast   line 


and  its  liarhor,  Port  Nicholson. 


358  NEJV  ZEALAND 

and  made  possible  the  vast  reclamation  projects  which  have 
added  so  much  to  the  city's  level  part. 

Wellingtonians  laugh  to  scorn  the  warning  sounded  in 
other  parts  of  the  Dominion  against  the  day  when  an  earth- 
quake will  wipe  out  Wellington  as  it  did  San  Francisco.  The 
people  of  the  capital  have  outlived  their  old  fear  of  earth- 
quakes, the  fear  which  for  years  kept  them  from  building  sub- 
stantial structures  and  resulted  in  a  city  of  frame  buildings. 
Today  you  will  find  buildings  of  brick  and  stone  replacing 
the  wood,  and  they  are  going  higher  in  the  air.  Even  the 
government  is  going  ahead  with  a  big  program  of  construction 
in  order  to  house  its  many  departments,  now  scattered  all  over 
the  downtown  section  of  the  city  in  all  kinds  of  buildings. 
You  almost  require  a  guide  if  you  are  going  to  visit  many 
governmental  departments,  for  very  few  Wellingtonians  have 
any  idea  where  they  can  be  found. 

The  hills  so  surround  Wellington  that  only  from  each  end, 
along  the  water's  edge,  can  it  be  entered  on  the  level.  These 
same  hills  seem  to  be  no  protection  from  the  winds  which 
frequently  sweep  the  city.  The  severe  winds  there  make  the 
harbor  dangerous  for  ships  which  are  compelled  to  anchor  in 
midstream  when  the  docks  are  full.  The  mud  at  the  bottom 
of  the  harbor  is  treacherous  and  will  not  hold  even  the  biggest 
anchors  in  a  bad  blow. 

The  city  officials  of  Wellington  have  for  years  been  work- 
ing on  a  carefully  mappcd-out  plan  to  have  the  city  limits  take 
in  every  foot  of  the  harbor  frontage,  and  now  the  line  includes 
all  the  small  boroughs  or  towns  surrounding  it,  except  one. 
In  order  that  the  city  may  never  be  cursed  with  congested 
districts  the  entire  main  portion  is  separated  from  suburbs  by 
a  belt  of  unimproved  forest  land.  This  is  leased  for  grazing 
purposes  with  the  provision  that  the  public  may  have  free 
access  to  all  parts  of  the  belt  during  the  day.  In  this  belt 
are  the  city's  recreation  centers,  including  municipal  golf  links 
and  tennis  courts. 

The  level  area  has  been  saved  for  l)usincss  i)urposcs,  too, 
bv  i)Ulling  the  botanical  gardens  at  the  very  top  of  one  of  the 


NEJV  ZEALAND   CITIES  359 

highest  hills.  It  is  a  beautiful  place,  reached  by  an  inclined 
railway  operated  by  cables,  and  it  affords  a  splendid  view. 
Further  recreation  is  to  be  found  in  a  tract  of  850  acres, 
called  Day's  Bay,  located  across  the  harbor. 

Wellington  owns  its  street  car  system,  its  electric  lights, 
the  water  supply  and  drainage  system,  the  hre  brigade, 
public  libraries,  cemeteries,  baths,  slaughter-hcuises,  and  han- 
dles the  supply  of  milk  which  is  served  thruout  the  city.  In 
the  city  proper  are  twenty-one  miles  of  street  railway,  while 
others  run  to  the  principal  suburbs. 

In  few  cities  of  the  world  is  a  greater  effort  made  to  keep 
the  milk  supply  pure.  Wellington  buys  all  milk  within  a 
radius  of  twenty-five  miles  and  some  as  far  as  a  hundred 
miles,  and  no  other  is  permitted  to  be  sold  there.  The  milk 
not  needed  for  consumption  is  turned  into  butter  and  cheese 
and  sold  by  the  city,  which  also  has  its  own  ice  plant  in  connec- 
tion. 

Wellington  boasts  of  the  best  main  street  in  any  city  in 
New  Zealand.  Lambton  Quay,  it  is  called,  and  it  is  very  wide 
except  at  one  end.  It  is  the  principal  business  thorofare ;  its 
shop  windows  are  a  treat  to  the  passerby,  and  you  will  see  in 
them  displays  that  would  do  credit  to  a  much  larger  city. 
The  people  who  pass  you  on  Lambton  Quay  seem  to  have 
more  of  a  hustle  to  them  than  those  in  the  three  other  cities 
of  New  Zealand,  where  life  appears  to  be  taken  more  leisurely. 
Auckland  has  its  Queen  Street,  Dunedin  its  Princess  Street 
and  Christchurch  has  beautiful  Cathedral  Square,  but  Lambton 
Quay  eclipses  them  all. 

During  the  day  it  is  a  hive  of  activity,  but  at  night  it  is 
most  quiet.  There  is  no  night  life  in  Wellington  except  for 
theater-goers,  no  doubt  because  of  the  climb  back  to  the  homes 
on  the  hills.  It  is  doubtful  if  being  the  capital  is  doing 
Wellington  very  much  good  today.  Certainly  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  fared  well  from  the  government  at  the  expense  of  its 
three  rivals.  Its  railway  station  is  far  off  the  beaten  track  and 
consists  of  two  ancient  wooden  buildings.  Until  recently  the 
government  buildings  were  scarcely  a  credit  to  either  the  city 


36o 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


or  the  government. 
Now  a  big,  digni- 
f  i  e  d  Parliament 
House  is  being 
completed,  huge 
wooden  structures 
which  have  housed 
government  offices 
are  being  discard- 
ed, and  splendid 
buildings,  some  of 
New  Zealand  white 
marble,  are  being 
erected. 

The  capital  i  s 
unfortunate  in  one 
particular  —  it  has 
no  great  agricultur- 
al district  on  which 
to  draw.  New  Zea- 
land depends  primarily  upon  its  exports  of  wool,  meat,  hides, 
butter,  cheese,  flax  and  coal  for  her  prosperity,  and  Wellington 
holds  second  place  among  the  ports  from  which  these  products 
are  shipped.  Her  export  trade  suffered  a  slump  during  the 
war,  largely  as  a  result  of  the  curtailment  of  shi])ments  abroad 
of  gold  found  in  New  Zealand,  and  she  has  never  recovered.  It 
is  from  her  imports  that  \\'ellington  profits  most.  The  central 
location  of  the  capital  makes  it  the  best  place  from  which 
to  distribute  goods  from  other  countries  thruout  the  Dominion, 
and  it  is  quite  likely  to  retain  its  supremacy  in  this  respect. 

Wellington  is  the  financial  center  of  the  Donfinion  and  here 
arc  kjcatcd  the  headquarters  of  the  six  big  banks  of  New  Zea- 
land. Other  features  of  the  capital  city  which  struck  me  as 
worth  recording  arc  the  magnificent  twenty-eight  mile  drive 
around  tlie  l)ay,  the  only  cremali  iriuni  owned  1)\'  a  cil\-  in  Xcw 
Zealan(K  a   splendid  /oo  and  llic  great   numlier  of   residences 


This  magnificent  building  iiouses  both  the  mail  and 
telegraph  service  in  Wellington.  It  is  built  of  native 
stone  and  covers  a  full  half  block,  being  one  of  the 
finest  buildings  in  the  Dominion. 


NRJV  ZEALAND   CITIES 


36T 


suppHcd  with  both  heat  and  hght  from  the  city-owned  plant. 

There  are  fifty-two  churches  and  schools  and  twenty-three 
charitable  institutions  in  Wellington. 

The  climate  1  found  delightful  during  our  stay.  T  learned 
that  the  lowest  known  temperature  was  29  degrees  and  the 
highest  88  degrees,  while  the  average  is  around  55  degrees. 
The  rainfall  is  about  fifty  inches  annually. 

The  visitor  who  wanders  out  of  the  most  modern  part  of 
the  l)usiness  section  into  the  original  settlement  could  easily 
imagine  that  he  had  l)een  taken  in  a  moment's  time  to  another 


^''»^-^ 


I H!  m  ,|j  j^  i ' 


»»»H     ffa 


'"w~"''~at"aKaicaESBR!aBB*»a 


This  picture  of  \\  ellington  Harbor  gives  an  idea  of  how  the  steep 
clififs  extend  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water.  The  business  district  has 
been  built  on  made  ground,  reclaimed  from  the  water  of  Port  Nicholson. 
Many  of  the  terraces  on  which  the  residential  districts  are  located  are 
too  steep  for  a  straight  climb,  and,  consequently,  the  streets  zigzag  and 
twist  to  avoid  the  impossible  grades. 


362  NEJV  ZEALAND 

place.  The  streets  become  more  crooked.  Frame  one-story 
buildings  which  are  several  decades  old  are  still  tenanted  by 
small  shops,  and  side  by  side  with  them  rise  modern  office 
buildings  of  several  stories,  built  of  brick  and  stone.  Fruit 
stores  kept  by  Chinamen  are  sandwiched  in  between  more 
pretentious  dry  goods  stores.  Over  small  and  large  alike  are 
wooden  awnings  built  out  over  the  sidewalk  as  protection 
against  the  frequent  showers  which  are  very  apt  to  fall  from 
a  clear  sky  and  without  warning. 

The  Wellington  wharfs  necessarily  have  to  be  equipped 
with  the  most  powerful  and  up-to-date  machinery  obtainable 
to  handle  the  vast  amount  of  incoming  and  outgoing  goods 
which  pass  thru  the  port.  It,  like  other  ports  of  the  Dominion, 
is  governed  by  a  harbor  board.  This  board,  however,  has 
distinctive  powers  in  that  it  receives  incoming  goods  at  the 
ship's  side,  gives  receipts  for  them  and  thereafter  is  respon- 
sible for  their  delivery  to  consignees  or  for  reshipping  on  other 
vessels.  With  the  authority  thus  centralized  there  is  not  the 
conflict  that  would  ensue  if  private  enterprises  were  permitted 
to  have  a  hand  in  the  management  of  the  wharfs.  It  is  said 
that  ships  are  loaded  and  unloaded  with  greater  speed  at 
Wellington  than  at  any  other  port  in  New  Zealand. 

The  board  has  full  charge  of  piloting  ships  in  or  out  of 
the  harbor  but  does  not  make  piloting  compulsory,  because  the 
channel,  being  dangerous,  is  so  well  marked  that  a  commander 
can  bring  his  ship  in  safely  without  a  pilot.  Coming  in  from 
the  South  Island  on  the  night  boat  we  saw  at  dawn  the  wreck 
of  a  small  vessel,  lost  with  all  on  board  the  night  before, 
piled  up  on  the  reefs  which  have  claimed  many  ships  there 
in  days  gone  by. 

Referring  again  to  the  cordial  politeness  I  encountered  in 
New  Zealand,  I  am  reminded  that  on  departing  from  Welling- 
ton I  tipped  the  waiter  who  for  two  weeks  had  taken  good 
care  of  my  party  of  four  persons,  lie  was  a  good  waiter,  and 
as  J  handed  him  his  tip  1  remarked  that  his  considerate  interest 
in  us  had  contributed  much  to  our  pleasure  and  comfort. 
Without  looking  at  the  amount  of  the  tip,  he  insisted  that  it 


NEJV  ZEALAND   CITIES 


363 


Lincoln  Agricultural  College,  near  Christchurch.  Its  buildings  stand 
in  the  midst  of  940  acres  of  rich  land  owned  by  the  Province  of  Canter- 
bury. Until  two  years  ago  this  college  was  self-sustaining,  for, 
while  it  is  educational,  it  likewise  runs  its  rich  acres  on  a  commercial 
basis.  The  government  now  gives  it  a  subsidy  in  order  that  more  time 
may  be  devoted  to  experimental  work. 

had  really  been  a  pleasure  to  wait  on  us,  and,  in  all  serious- 
ness, added,  "In  fact,  one  wouldn't  suspect  that  you  were 
Americans." 

"The  Garden  Spot  of  New  Zealand"  is  what  they  call 
Christchurch  and  the  Canterbury  Plains  in  which  it  is  situated. 
The  plains,  150  miles  long  and  50  wide,  are  the  only  ex- 
tensive level  spaces  on  either  the  North  or  South  Island, 
and  it  is  on  the  3,000,000  acres  there  that  New  Zealand  farm- 
ing is  to  be  seen  at  its  best. 

Christchurch,  with  its  population  of  100,000,  including  its 
suburbs,  is  in  the  South  Island.  It  was  founded  by  a  colony 
of  men  and  women  sent  out  by  the  Church  of  England,  hence 
its  religious  name.  You  get  to  it  from  Wellington  by  an  all- 
night  boat  run  of  175  miles,  then  seven  miles  by  train  from 
Port  Lyttleton. 

I  found  Christchurch  the  best  laid  out  city  in  New  Zealand. 
Its  streets  are  level,  wide  and  clean,  and  run  at  right  angles  to 


3^4 


NEJV  ZEALAND 


each  other,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  mazes  of  hills,  streets, 
lanes  and  alleys  which  are  to  be  found  in  Auckland,  \\'ellington 
and  Dunedin.  The  buildings  are  mostly  of  brick  and  stone. 
Streets  and  sidewalks  are  paved  with  crushed  stone  and  asphalt, 

and  w  here  the 
curbing  should  be 
there  runs  con- 
stantly in  a  gutter 
a  stream  of  water 
fed  by  artesian 
wells.  Thru  the 
very  heart  of  the 
town  runs  a  placid 
little  stream,  the 
Avon,  lined  deeply 
on  both  sides  by 
beautiful  trees  and 
well  -  kept  shrub- 
bery, while  at  every 
street  it  is  crossed 
by  quaint  wide 
bridges. 

Christchurcli  i  s 
a  trans])lante(l  bit 
of  southern  h-ng- 
land.  It  is,  too. 
the  Boston  of  New 
Zealand,  for  the 
forefathers  w  h  o 
founded  the  I'rov- 
ince  of  C^anterl)ur\- 
made    wise    ])rovi- 

This  heaiititi.l  edifice  is  the  AnRlican  Call.ednil  in  sion  for  education 
("hristchurch.  This  city,  whicli  is  the  Boston  of  New  ])rimarv.  second- 
Zealand,  originally  was  established  as  a  model  Cluirch  ,  ,  ,,,,,•,•  >,-  ii  <■ 
of  l-.nKland  settlement.  The  foundation  stone  of  the  '">  '1'^*'  "'"'^tl^UN 
cathedral  was  laid  in  1864,  within   fourteen  years  of  the  and  also  incltlded 

founding   of   the   settlement,   and    tlu'   huildinu;   was   com-  ,  r  „.■   ,  i 

,  ,    1    •      ,,„, ,  a   plan    i<  u    agi  icni- 

])leted    m    l'J()4.  '  '^ 


.\/:ir  /.h..ii..\\n  cirir.s 


.f'5 


lural  eflucalion  for  those  of  llir  future  s^cncratious  wlio  mi^lit 
wish  to  farm  the  laud  scicutilicallN . 

Thus  it  ha])peus  that  a  few  uiiles  out  of  (  luislchureli  i 
found  Lincohi  Agrieuhural  C'olle^a'.  founded  in  the  late  70's.  Its 
buildings,  which  can  care  for  a  maximum  of  fifty-onc  students, 
are  set  in  the  midst  of  940  acres  of  what  wc  in  the  United 
States  would  call  ])rime  bottom  laud.  The  land  belongs  to 
the  Province  of  Canterbury  and  is  administered  by  a  s])ecial 
board.  Until  two  years  ago  it  was  entirely  self-sustaining. 
for  it  does  its  farming  on  a  commercial  basis. 

Banks'  Peninsula  is  a  wonderful  bit  of  country.  There 
dairying  ilourishes  amid  some  wonderful  scenery  that  ecjuals 
that  of  the  Alps  of  Switzerland.  To  the  very  tops  of  the  hills 
is  grown  a  cereal  called  cocksfoot  that  was  a  revelation  to  me. 


1  he  River  Avon,  which  crosses  Christchurch  at  an  angle,  flows 
thru  some  of  the  most  beautiful  gardens  in  the  Dominion.  The  stream 
is  just  deep  enough  for  the  rowboats  which  crowd  its  surface  in  the 
evening.    Well-kept  shrubbery  and  groves  of  trees  line  the  banks. 


?66 


NEW  ZEALAND 


Originally  brought  from  England,  it  has  been  sown  thruout 
the  peninsula  on  soil  that  once  bore  dense  forests.  It  brings 
a  double  profit.  The  seed  is  sent  abroad  for  malsters  and 
the  plant  makes  excellent  cattle  feed.  Moreover,  beneath  the 
heavy  growth  of  cocksfoot  grows  native  grass  upon  which 
sheep  and  cattle  graze  after  the  cocksfoot  has  been  gathered. 
The  crop  is  harvested  with  the  sickle  and  scythe,  being 
spread  out  to  cure  in  the  sun.  I  saw  men  at  the  harvest,  2,000 
feet  above  sea  level,  with  clouds  swirling  close  overhead,  and 
far  beneath  them  the  waters  of  Akaroa  harbor,  famous 
as  the  site  of  a  notable  Maori  battle.     The  odd  thing  about 

the  way  cocksfoot 
came  to  New  Zea- 
land is  that  a  farm- 
er sent  back  to 
England  for  clover. 
Instead  he  got 
other  seed,  and,  in 
disgust,  he  cast  it 
to  the  wind.  But 
wdien  he  saw  what 
grew  from  this 
seed  he  recognized 
it  as  cocksfoot,  and 
I  bus  was  started  a 
\"  a  1  u  a  b  1  e  crop 
which  now  covers 
many  thousands  of 
acres  each  year. 
The  seed  is  very 
li.^lil  and  weighs 
only  thirteen 
p  o  u  n  d  s  to  the 
bushel. 

'I'hc     vast     hills, 
denuded      of      the 
Harvesting  cocksfoot  2,000  feet  above  sea  Icvd.  timber    wliicli    once 


NEIV  ZEALAND   CITIES  367 

covered  them,  today  are  great  grazing  grounds  for  sheep  and 
dairy  herds.  Nestling  in  the  clefts  of  the  hills  are  scores  of 
farmhouses,  and  the  vistas  are  so  charming  that  we  grew  cjuite 
as  enthusiastic  as  did  our  companion,  Dr.  Henry  T.  J.  Thacker, 
the  mayor  of  Christchurch.  who  was  born  on  one  of  these  back 
"stations,"  and  who  was  our  host  on  the  Irif). 

Dr.  Thacker  is  immensely  proud  of  his  city,  and  rightly  so. 
It  is  essentially  a  city  of  small  homes,  with  not  a  single  apart- 
ment house,  and  no  slums.  Its  gardens  are  among  the  fmest 
in  the  Dominion.  Its  churches  are  easily  the  most  pretentious, 
from  the  majestic  Anglican  Cathedral,  located  in  the  square 
which  is  the  heart  of  the  city,  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral, 
and  down  to  scores  of  smaller  structures,  every  one  of  them 
artistic  to  high  degree.  The  city's  schools  and  colleges  are 
unsuri)assed  in  New  Zealand,  and  Christchurch  is  looked  up 
to  as  the  Dominion's  center  of  learning. 

Christchurch  boasts  that  it  has  the  best  street  car  service 
of  the  four  big  cities,  in  spite  of  the  demands  made  upon  it 
by  the  fact  that  the  people  seek  their  amusements  and  sports 
away  from  the  city  itself,  in  the  marine  suburbs  beyond  the 
hills  or  in  the  rural  districts.  Cheap  electric  power  has  given 
the  city  the  only  general  two-cent  car  fare  in  New  Zealand. 

The  cause  of  this  lies  some  eighty  miles  from  Christchurch. 
At  Lake  Coleridge  is  the  biggest  hydro-electric  develo])ment 
in  the  southern  hemisphere.  This  natural  lake,  located  back 
in  the  hills,  was  considered  so  valuable  a  source  of  water 
power  that  the  Dominion  government  took  control  of  it ;  seeing 
the  vast  possibilities  of  which  the  Lake  Coleridge  project  is 
the  forerunner,  it  has  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  acquisition 
of  water  power  by  any  corporation  or  individual. 

Lake  Coleridge  is  fringed  by  mountains  at  an  altitude  of 
1,600  feet.  By  means  of  a  tunnel  less  than  a  mile  long  a  fall 
of  five  hundred  feet  was  obtained ;  the  water  after  being  used 
runs  into  the  Rakaia  River.  Today  enough  power  is  being 
developed  to  supply  all  the  light  and  power  needed  in  Christ- 
church, as  well  as  in  much  of  the  surrounding  country.  When 
certain  improvements  are  completed,  not  only  the  Canterbury 


368. 


xr.ir  zi-.ii..\\n 


Plains  but  far-away  towns  and  rural  districts  can  be  supplied. 
In  the  meantime  many  industries  are  being  attracted  to  Christ- 
church  by  the  cheap  electrical  power. 

When  Mark  Twain  was  touring  New  Zealand  in  1895  he 
made  quite  a  hit  in  Dunedin,  fourth  largest  city  of  the  Do- 
minion, with  a  little  speech  in  which  he  touched  on  the  Scot- 
tish element  in  its  population.  "When  I  was  passing  thru  the 
North  Island,"  he  said,  "I  noticed  that  on  the  gates  in  the 
fences  on  each  side  of  the  railroad  right-of-way  there  were 
signs  which  read.  'Please  close  the  gate,'  in  the  characteristic 
polite  way  of  the  English.  But  when  I  passed  into  Otago 
Province  I  noticed  that  the  wording  of  the  signs  was  differ- 
ent. They  read,  'Any  person  who  fails  to  close  this  gate  after 
passing  thru  it  will  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  five  pounds.'  Then 
I  knew  that  I  had  arrived  where  the  Scots  ruled." 

I,  too.  was  told  before  I  started  for  Dunedin  that  I  would 


A  snapshot  of  one  of  the  principal  corners  in  Ihincdin,  the  lartlust 
south  hij^  city  of  New  Zealand.  The  business  section  is  laid  out  on  level 
ground  which  was  once  mud  flats.  Tlie  architecture  in  Dunedin  is  elab- 
orate and  the  buildings  substantial  because  earth  shocks  seldom  occur, 
altho  one  woke  up  Mr.  Boyce  and  his  party  at  5  o'clock  one  morning. 


NEIV  ZEALAND   CITIES  369 

find  it  typically  Scotch.  But  when  I  got  there  I  began  to 
wonder  where  the  Scotchmen  had  gone.  I  found  that  the 
old  lines  had  been  wiped  out  and  that  the  people  were  nov.' 
entirely  New  Zealanders,  who  did  not  care  to  be  called  either 
Scotch  or  English  or  Irish,  but  favored  the  all-embracing  name 
of  British. 

Dunedin  name  is  indicative  of  the  ancestry  of  its  first  set- 
tlers. They  wanted  to  call  it  New  Edinburgh,  after  the  big 
city  of  the  homeland,  but  there  are  so  many  Edinburghs  in 
the  world  that  the  proposal  to  call  it  Dunedin,  which  is  the 
Celtic  name  for  Edinburgh,  was  quickly  adopted.  Many  of 
the  streets  of  the  city  bear  the  names  of  streets  of  the  original 
Edinburgh,  and  the  little  stream  which  winds  its  way  across 
the  north  end  of  the  city  is  called  the  Water  of  Leith. 

Until  1847  the  only  white  men  who  had  been  attracted 
to  Otago  Heads,  as  the  little  settlement  was  then  called,  were 
sealers  and  whalers,  but  in  that  year  several  small  vessels 
arrived  bearing  colonists  sent  out  by  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, so  that  by  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  500  white 
persons  there.  This  population  was  greatly  increased  by  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  Otago  in  1861.  Hard  times  followed  the 
dying  out  of  the  gold  fever,  but  the  city  was  never  set  so  far 
back  but  that  it  could  quickly  recover ;  today,  with  its  suburbs, 
it  has  a  population  of  70,000. 

Peculiarly  enough,  the  men  who  so  anxiously  tore  up  the 
soil  in  their  hunt  for  gold  in  the  dry  lands  of  central  Otago 
did  not  realize  that  fortune  of  another  sort  was  in  that  soil. 
That  country,  thru  irrigation,  has  developed  into  one  of  the 
best  fruit-producing  parts  of  all  New  Zealand. 

During  the  early  gold  rushes,  and  during  the  later  ones 
when  the  Chinese  followed  the  Europeans  as  the  chief  seekers 
after  the  yellow  metal,  a  few  men  kept  experimenting  with 
fruit,  believing  that  the  soil  was  best  adapted  for  that  purpose. 
After  their  first  success  many  others  joined  them,  and  now 
there  is  raised  an  abundance  of  grapes,  peaches,  nectarines, 
apricots,  pears,  and  several  kinds  of  nuts.  The  rainfall  is  slight 
— fourteen  inches  a  year — but  irrigation  makes  up  for  the  lack. 


370 


NEIV  ZEALAND 


Interior  view  of  the  Mosgiel  Woolen  Mills  near  Dunedin.  The  mill, 
one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Dominion,  grows  its  own  sheep  for  wool,  and 
not  only  makes  cloth  out  of  it,  but  turns  out  rugs  of  the  finest  quality. 
Like  all  other  mills  in  New  Zealand,  it  manufactures  only  for  home 
consumption,  because  exportation  of  woolen  goods  is  prohibited  until  the 
Dominion's  supply,  depleted  by  the  war,  is  built  up  again. 

For  years  birds  proved  serious  obstacles  to  tbe  industry,  but 
the  introduction  of  the  small  German  owl  drove  away  the 
birds. 

The  land  is  rich  in  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  so  that  the 
addition  of  lime  and  humus  makes  it  eminently  suitable  for 
the  raising  of  small  fruits.  Raspberry  and  strawberry  grow- 
ing are  being  taken  up  by  increasing  numbers.  The  climate  is 
ideal  for  this  purpose.  It  is  rare  for  the  country  to  be  under 
snow,  but  the  air  in  winter  is  cold  and  dry,  with  frosts  in 
June  and  July,  their  midwinter. 

Dairying  is  carried  on  on  almost  as  great  a  scale  as  in  Can- 
terbury, and  many  sheep  and  beef  cattle  are  raised.  The 
methods  are  practically  the  same  as  in  Canterbury,  but  the 
farmers  of  Otago  have  learned  that  they  can  protluce  better 
alfalfa  and  get  four  big  crops  a  year. 

J'ort  Chalmers,  seven  miles  from  Dunedin,  is  the  sto])i)ing 
place  for  incoming  vessels  of  deep  draught.     From  Chalmers 


N/iir  ziiALAND  cirnis 


3/1 


to  Dunedin  there  is  a  channel  up  an  estuary  of  the  sea.  The 
channel  naturally  was  twelve  feet  dee]),  but  was  dredged  out 
to  a  dei)th  of  twenty  feet,  an  ample  (k'])tli  at  the  time.  Xow, 
however,  it  is  only  the  smaller  vessels  which  can  get  up  to 
Dunedin.  so  it  is  being  planned  to  dredge  several  feet  deeper 
or  else  build  locks  to  take  care  of  the  big  boats.  This  would 
make  available  again  Dunedin's  big  dock,  once  the  largest 
in  the  Dominion. 

The  Union  Steamship  Company,  which  controls  most  of 
ihe  shipping  in  Australasia,  and  which  started  in  1872  with 
three  tiny  vessels,  making  New  Zealand  ports  only — now 
grown  to  a  fleet  of  a  hundred — was  one  of  the  factors  in 
making  Dunedin  a  city  of  importance.  The  Union  Company 
has   most   of    the   mail-carrying   contracts   between    .\ustralia 


fen 


This  photograph  shows  a  crowd  cod-fishing  off  a  wharf  near 
Dunedin.  New  Zealand  is  a  great  fish  country,  and  many.,  varieties  of 
fish  are  found  in  its  waters.  On  holidays  wharfs  and  jetties  are  crowded 
with  men  and  boys  trying  to  hook  "a  big  one."  Most  cities  engage  in 
the  fish  business  and  sell  at  ridiculously  low  prices  at  public  markets. 


yj2  NEW  ZEALAND 

and  New  Zealand,  Canada  and  Australasia,  and  virtually  all 
of  the  sea  travel  in  this  part  of  the  world  is  on  its  ships. 

Dunedin  does  not  depend  upon  its  maritime  business  for 
all  of  its  prosperity.  Near  it  are  located  four  of  the  nine  big 
woolen  mills  in  New  Zealand.  It  is  an  iron  and  steel  manu- 
facturing center.  Its  nearness  to  the  fruit  district  has  made 
it  the  logical  location  for  preserving  plants  and  candy  factories. 
In  its  suburbs  are  manufactured  farming  implements,  stoves 
and  ranges.  Here  also  is  one  of  the  car-building  factories  of 
the  Dominion  railways,  and  only  a  few  miles  away  is  a  paper 
mill.  There  are  several  large  packing  plants  near  Dunedin 
to  take  care  of  the  great  flocks  of  sheep  on  the  9.000,000  acres 
in  Otago,  half  of  which  is  devoted  to  sheep. 

Some  day  Dunedin  will  be  a  much  greater  manufacturing 
center,  for,  like  Christchurch,  it  is  close  to  many  sites  capable 
of  developing  great  water  power.  It  now  has  the  second  largest 
hydro-electric  plant  in  the  Dominion,  located  at  \\'aipori  Falls. 

Dunedin  has  one  industry  peculiarly  its  own,  developed 
from  what  was  the  greatest  menace  to  agriculture  in  the  South 
Island — the  rabbit  pest.  Miles  after  miles  of  rabbit-proof 
fencing  are  to  be  found  in  Otago,  and  special  boards  deal  with 
the  problem  of  extermination.  Many,  however,  have  found  in 
the  rabbit  a  good  source  of  income,  and  they  are  slaughtered 
by  the  wagonload  in  drives  where  many  hunters  take  part. 
Great  quantities  of  carcasses  are  shipped  to  other  countries  in 
refrigerating  ships,  a  trade  developed  during  the  war  and  now 
assuming  considerable  importance. 

In  Dunedin  is  located  Otago  University,  one  cf  the  four 
affiliated  schools  operated  by  the  Dominion  government  as 
the  University  of  New  Zealand.  Here  also  are  Knox  College 
and  Selwyn  College,  denominational  schools,  as  well  as  a  dental 
school  and  the  only  medical  school  in  New  Zealand  which  is 
also  operated  in  connection  with  a  hospital. 

Much  (if  the  land  ui)on  which  Dunedin  is  built  was  once 
mud  flats.  Hundreds  of  acres  among  the  high  hills  back  of 
the  business  section  were  under  water  in  the  early  days,  but 
now  provide  homes   for  some  jj,0(XJ  i)e(>ple.     The  city  l(X)ks 


NEJV  ZEALAND   CITIliS 


?^72> 


as  if  it  had  been  juniblcfl  lo 
gether    by    some    fantastic    up- 
heaval of  the  earth  in  the  long 
ago. 

1  inspected  the  Mosgiel 
Woolen  Mills,  employing  three 
hundred  men  and  women.  It  is 
located  some  fourteen  miles 
from  Dunedin  and  is  one  of 
the  largest  as  well  as  one  of  the 
oldest  mills  in  the  Dominion. 
It  raises  its  own  sheep  and 
makes  the  wool  from  their 
backs  into  cloth  and  rugs  which 
are  hard  to  equal. 

Altho  Dunedin  is  not  the 
principal  port  from  which  meat 
is  shipped,  it  was  the  one  from 
which  the  movement  was  in- 
augurated, for  in  1882  a  sail- 
ing vessel  fitted  with  a  freez- 
ing machine  and  insulated 
chambers  carried  frozen  mut- 
ton to  London  and  demon- 
strated that  it  was  possible  to 
make  sheep  New  Zealand's 
biggest  industry.  New  Zealanders  were  the  first  to  taste  their 
own  frozen  mutton,  for  while  the  ship  was  being  loaded  the 
crank  of  the  freezing  machine  broke  and  it  became  necessary 
to  sell  for  local  use  the  1,500  carcasses  already  aboard. 

In  Dunedin  I  met  one  man  who  was  connected  with  this  ven- 
ture— Sir  John  Roberts,  probably  the  most  influential  citizen 
of  the  city  today.  Born  in  Scotland,  he  emigrated  to  Australia 
to  enter  and  study  the  wool  business  at  first  hand,  and  himself 
began  at  the  bottom  as  a  spinner.  On  the  first  venture  of 
shipping  frozen  meat  to  England  he  was  one  of  the  five  sheep- 
raisers  who  furnished  the  carcasses. 


In  Hamilton,  one  of  the  pros- 
perous secondary  cities  of  North 
Island,  they  have  broken  away 
from  the  conventional  "stand 
pipe"  as  a  source  of  water  pres- 
sure. The  steel  and  concrete 
skeleton  of  this  water  tower  is 
encased  in  a  concrete  shell 
which  gives  the  impression  of  a 
mediaeval   tower. 


CHAPTER  Vn 


Th 


A   MEMORIAL  TO   CAPTAIN   SCOTT 

THERE  stands  in  Christchurch  a  memorial  of  Captain  Scott. 
Perchance  you  come  onto  it  by  accident  when  you  are 
seeking-  evidence  of  commercial  success  and  your  mind  is 
occupied  with  the  statistics  of  commerce.     Your  steps  bring 

you  suddenly  to  a  modest 
monument  of  white  granite. 
You  stop  before  it,  only 
mildly  curious,  and  read 
the  bronze  tablet  because 
you  have  the  habits  of  a 
confirmed  traveler. 

"Robert  Falcon  Scott." 
The  name  is  familiar.  Your 
mind  hesitates  a  minute  or 
two  as  it  puts  aside  the 
statistics  of  commerce,  and 
then  full  understanding 
dawns  upon  you,  involun- 
tarily your  hand  goes  to 
your  hat,  and,  with  un- 
covered head,  you  look 
U])  at  the  white  iigure  in 
its  polar  garb;  the  intrepid, 
courageous  explorer  done 
in  mar])le  !  The  inspiring  story  of  Captain  Scott's  dash  to  the 
South  Pole  and  the  tragic  end  of  the  five  men  who  laid  down 
their  lives  on  the  great  ice  fields  of  The  Barrier  comes  back 
to  you. 

Immediately  you  remember  that  this  tragic  epic  began  in 
Lxtlleton,  not  far  from  Christchurch,  and  the  spiritual  being 
within  you  which  worships  at  the  shrine  of  heroes  will  give 


'.ifKj^ 


Tcrni   XdVii    fast    in    the   ice   ticlds   of   the 
Antarctic. 


374 


The  monument  to  Captain  Scott  in  the  city  of  Christchurcli,  in 
memoriam  of  the  intrepid  explorer,  who,  with  his  four  companions, 
traveled  to  the  South  Pole,  only  to  lose  their  lives  on  the  return  trip. 


3/-6 


NEJJ'  ZEALAND 


you  no  rest  until  you  have  gone  over  to  Lyttleton  and  walked 
along  the  docks,  looking  away  to  where  the  bending  skies 
seem  to  blend  with  the  restless  sea  to  form  the  curtain  for 
the  stage  of  tragedy. 

Lyttleton  is  the  main  port  of  the  Canterbury  district.  It  is 
practically  land-locked,  and,  therefore,  offers  a  desirable  pro- 
tection for  shipping.  It  is  the  port  where  all  South  Pole 
expeditions  outfit  in  the  Pacific  waters.  It  is  so  close  to  Christ- 
church  that  one  might  refer  to  it  as  a  Christchurch  suburb  if 
it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  rivalry  between  the  two  towns 
makes  it  certain  that  each  would  strenuously  object  to  being 
called  a  suburb  of  the  other.  In  traveling  from  Lyttleton  to 
the  famous  Canterbury  Plains  one  passes  under  the  Port  Hills 


Lyttleton  and  its  harbor  as  seen  from  an  airplane.  From  this  port 
Captain  Scott  set  sail  on  his  heroic  and  tragic  expedition  to  the 
.South   Pole. 


CAPTAIN  SCOTT  }," 

thru  the  longest  tunnel  in  New  Zealand.     It  is  one  and  three- 
fourths  miles  long. 

Beeause  of  its  doek  facilities  and  its  "farthest  south"  loca- 
tion, Lyttleton  is  an  ideal  jumping-off  place  for  expeditions 
to  the  Antarctic  regions.  In  1901  Captain  Scott  made  the  port 
with  the  ship  Discovery,  in  which  he  made  his  first  trip  to 
the  Antarctic.  The  superstitious  might  have  seen  in  an  inci- 
dent attending  the  departure  of  this  first  expedition  a  prophecy 
of  tragedy.  Lyttleton  gave  the  explorers  a  royal  send-oft',  and 
every  available  craft  followed  the  Discovery  out  to  the  open 
sea.  One  of  the  ship's  sailors,  Charles  Bonner,  had  climbed 
above  the  crow's  nest  to  the  top  of  the  main  mast  to  wave 
his  farewells  to  those  aboard  the  other  boats.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  when  the  swell  of  the  open  sea  struck  the  Discovery 
the  young  man  was  pitched  from  his  precarious  station. 
He  plunged  head  foremost  to  the  deck  and  was  instantly 
killed  when  he  struck  a  corner  of  the  iron  deckhouse. 

When  Captain  Scott  decided  to  make  a  dash  to  the  South 
Pole  in  1910  he  again  made  Lyttleton  the  jumping-oft'  place. 
Here  the  Scottish  whaler  Terra  Nova  had  her  final  inspection 
and  provisions  for  the  expedition  were  loaded.  With  a  capable 
and  determined  crew,  well  equipped  for  any  emergency,  the 
ship  sailed  from  Lyttleton  November  26,  19 10.  A  notable 
demonstration  was  staged  as  a  farewell  to  the  explorers.  The 
ship  put  in  at  Port  Chambers  for  coal  and  headed  into  the 
ocean  wilderness  of  the  x\ntarctic,  November  26. 

The  story  of  that  journey  is  too  well  known  to  justify  a 
repetition  of  it  here.  The  ship  battled  terrific  storms ; 
time  and  again  it  seemed  certain  that  it  would  go  down  in 
mountainous  waves  which  broke  over  it.  Several  times  I  have 
heard  persons  tell  as  an  impossible  story,  how  a  wave  swept 
a  man  overboard  and  another  wave  returned  him  to  the  ship. 
This  actually  happened  during  the  voyage  of  the  Terra  Nova, 
the  unfortunate — or  fortunate — victim  being  a  dog.  During 
one  of  the  storms  a  wave  broke  over  the  ship  and  caught  one 
of  the  dogs  with  such  force  that  his  chain  was  broken  and 


3/8 


XEJJ-  ZEALAND 


Over  800  miles  of  ice  fields,  Captain  Scott  and  his  four  companions 
dashed  to  the  South  Pole  from  One  Ton  Camj).  Winds,  snow  and 
accidents  held  them  back  on  the  return  journey  until  their  supply  of  food 
was  exhausted.  With  food  and  shelter  but  eleven  miles  away,  they 
heroicall}'  met  their  death  in  a  terrific  storm. 


he  was  carried   into  the  sea.     A   few  minutes  later  another 
wave  swept  the  deck  and  returned  the  dog. 

Landing  his  supi)hes  in  ^IcMurdo  Sound,  Cajitain  Scott's 
expedition  moved  in  to  the  edge  of  The  Barrier,  a  great  lield 
of  snow  and  ice.  Here  was  established  ( )ne  Ton  Cam]),  from 
which  the  Captain  and  four  companions  made  their  dash  to 
the  Pole,  only  to  fnid  that  Amundsen's  Norwegian  expedition 
had  arrived  ahead  of  the  J>ritish  by  a  month.  The  five  men 
then  took  uj)  the  8oo-milc  journc}-  back  to  (  )ne  Ton  C\'im]). 
Edgar  Evans,  the  strong  man  of  the  party,  was  injured  in  a 
fall  and  this  slowed  down  the  pace.  Tie  died  at  the  foot  of 
lleardmore  Glacier.  Terrific  cold  and  miprcccdcntcd  storms 
held  back  the  ])arty.     C"a])tain   L.   !•'.  (i.  (  )ates  frosted  his  feet 


CAPTAIN  SCOTT 


379 


and  they  soon  were  in  such  concHtion  that  he  could  scarcely 
walk  Realizing  that  he  was  jeopardizing  the  safety  of  his 
companions  during  a  severe  hlizzard  he  deliberately  staggered 
away  in  the  storm,  to  be  seen  no  more. 

The  remaining  three  men,  Scott,  Dr.  E.  A.  Wilson  and 
Lieutenant  H.  R.  Bowers,  struggled  on  until  they  were  within 
eleven  miles  of  One  Ton  Camp,  which  would  have  meant 
life  to  them.  Here,  with  food  and  fuel  gone,  they  were  over- 
taken by  the  worst  blizzard  in  their  experience  and  were  un- 
able to  continue.  Scott  evidently  was  the  last  to  succumb,  and 
to  the  end  he  continued  to  write  in  his  diary. 

While  every  effort  was  made  to  rescue  the  men,  the  relief 
party  could  not  get  thru  The  Barrier  until  October  of  1912.   The 


i 


Captain  Scott  and  his  four  companions  as  they  appeared  on  The  Barrier, 
in  the  icy  desert  of  which  they  were  to  lay  down  their  lives. 


38o  NEjy  ZEALAND 

last  entry  in  Scott's  notes  was  dated  March  29.  1912.    It  read: 

"Since  the  21st  we  have  had  a  continuous  gale  from  W.  SW. 
and  SW.  We  had  fuel  to  make  two  cups  of  tea  apiece,  and 
bare  food  for  two  days  on  the  20th.  Every  day  we  have  been 
ready  to  start  for  our  depot,  eleven  miles  away,  but  outside 
the  door  of  the  tent  it  remains  a  scene  of  whirling  drift.  I  do 
not  think  we  can  hope  for  any  better  things  now.  We  shall 
stick  it  out  to  the  end,  but  we  are  getting  weaker,  of  course, 
and  the  end  cannot  be  far.  It  seems  a  pity,  but  I  do  not 
think  I  can  write  more." 

Below  this  entry  was  scrawled : 

"For  God's  sake,  look  after  our  people !" 

When  the  relief  party  arrived  the  little  tent  still  was  stand- 
ing and  in  it  were  the  bodies  of  the  three  heroes.  Scott's 
account  of  the  trip  and  the  scientific  notes  w^ere  found  beneath 
the  Captain's  body.  He  had  done  his  utmost  to  preserve  them 
for  the  benefit  and  information  of  the  living. 

On  November  12,  1912,  the  relief  party  built  a  rough  cairn 
on  the  spot  where  the  bodies  were  found  and  in  the  midst  of 
this  wilderness  of  death  deposited  a  document  which  read : 

"November  12,  1912.  Lat.  79  degrees  50  mins.  south.  This 
cross  and  cairn  are  erected  over  the  bodies  of  Captain  Scott, 
C.  V.  O.,  R.  N.,  Doctor  E.  A.  Wilson,  M.  B.  B.  C,  Cantab., 
and  Lieutenant  H.  R.  Bowers,  Royal  Indian  Marine— a  slight 
token  to  perpetuate  their  successful  and  gallant  attempt  to 
reach  the  Pole.  This  they  did  on  January  17,  1912,  after  the 
Norwegian  expedition  had  already  done  so.  Inclement  weather 
wnth  lack  of  fuel  was  the  cause  of  their  death.  Also  to  com- 
memorate their  two  gallant  comrades,  Captain  L.  E.  G.  Oates 
of  the  Inniskilling  Dragoons,  who  walked  to  his  death  in  a 
blizzard  to  save  his  companions  about  eighteen  miles  south  of 
this  position;  also  of  Seaman  Edgar  Evans,  who  died  at 
the  foot  of  Beardmore  (jlacicr. 

"The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  lakcth  away ;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord." 

Captain  Scott  and  his  gallant  companions  spectacularly 
e.xemjjlified  the  spirit  of  the  men  who  have  carried  the  British 


CAPTAIN  SCOTT 


381 


flag  thruout  the  Seven  Seas  and  onto  every  continent  until 
the  sun  never  sets  on  the  glory  of  the  British  lunpire. 

It  was  this  spirit  which  reclaimed  New  Zealand  and  Aus- 
tralia from  savagery,  established  orderly  government,  and  built 
up  a  prosperous  people,  and  it  is  this  spirit  which  today  stands 
sentinel  for  white  civilization  in  the  far  outposts  of  the  Pacific. 

As  I  gazed  on  the  memorial  to  Captain  Scott  there  in  Christ- 
church,  and  the  thrilling  story  of  his  indomitable  courage  came 
back  to  me,  I  found  a  new  meaning  in  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"Out  of  the  night  that  covers  me 
Black  as  the  pit  from  pole  to  pole, 

I  thank  whatever  gods  may  be 
For  my  unconquerable  soul." 


'•""iBr^' 


-r-r-^-"*!!.— 


■'^mca^Smt: 


2W5» 


J**  '^ 


^^ 


•^t^^im. 


The  rough  cairn  erected  by  the  relief  party  on  the  spot  where  the  bodies 
of  Captain  Scott  and  two  of  his  companions  were  found. 


ILLUSTRATED 
SOUTH  AMERICA 

By 

W.  D.  BOYCE 

TTunting  in  the  highways  and  byways  of  South  America 
for  interesting  Travel  Stories  for  The  Saturday  Blade,  Mr. 
Boyce  gathered  material  and  pictures  which  have  not  been 
surpassed  in  interest  and  educational  values.  This  volume 
set  a  new  standard  for  Travel  Books.  It  is  published  by 
Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  and  is  in  constant  demand.  Price  $2.50. 
For  sale  by  all  book  dealers,  or  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

PRESS  COMMENT 

San  Francisco  Chronicle — The  author  has  a  natural  bent  toward  the 
study  of  the  origin  of  the  various  peoples  of  South  America. 

Brooklyn  Eagle — A  good  book  it  is,  every  page  bearing  the  finger- 
print of  a  keen  and  capable  reporter. 

New  York  Mail — Best  pictorial  record  of  travel  yet. 

Pittsburgh  Post — It  is  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  current  litera- 
ture. 

Atlanta  Journal — In  the  600-odd  pages  of  this  volume  is  a  wealth 
of  human  as  well  as  historical  and  practical  interest. 

Cleveland  Leader — He  gave  himself  an  "assignment"  to  "cover" 
that  territory  and  he  came  back  with  the  "story." 

Utica  Daily  Press — He  wrote  as  he  traveled,  while  all  the  sights, 
facts  and  events  were  fresh  in  his  mind. 

Editor  and  Publisher — In  all  this  book  of  nearly  700  pages  there  is 
not  a  dreary  page. 

Florida  Times-Union — Written  by  an  American  business  man  who 
catches  the  salient  point  of  view. 

Houston  Chronicle — Full  of  valuable  information  and  of  commer- 
cial as  well  as  literary  interest. 

Kansas  City  Star — An  exceedingly  readable  volume  of  some  OOO 
pages. 

Troy  (N.  Y.)  Record — A  good  substitute  for  an  actual  trip  through 
the  little  Republics  of  South  America. 

News,  Salt  Lake  City — Hardly  a  page  of  this  volume  is  without 
illustrations. 

San  Francisco  Call — Recommended  for  the  exceptional  fullness  and 
interest  of  its  pictorial  contents. 

Evening  Star  (Washington,  D.  C. ) — A  wonderfully  interesting, 
historically  accurate,  splendidly  pictured  and  narratively  delightful  book. 

South  American  (Caracas,  Venezuela) — A  truthful  portrayal  of 
first  impressions. 

Herald — Buenos  Aires  (Argentina) — A  timely,  interesting  and  valu- 
able treatise. 


UNITED  STATES 
COLONIES 

AND 

DEPENDENCIES 

By  W.  D.  BOYCE 

This  remarkable  book  was  written  after  Air.  Boyce  had 
visited  all  the  Colonies  of  the  United  States  and  personally 
gathered  his  material  and  illustrations  for  his  Travel  Stories 
in  The  Saturday  Blade.  It  is  an  intimate  and  human  picture 
of  modern  conditions,  customs,  people  and  problems,  valuable 
as  a  reference  work  as  well  as  being  entertaining.  It  is  pub- 
lished by  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  in  uniform  size  and  makeup 
with  Illustrated  South  America.  A  most  desirable  book  for 
every  library.  Price  $2.50.  For  sale  bv  all  book  dealers,  or 
Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  Chicago. 

PRESS  COMMENT 

There  is  something  clear  and  practical  in  Air.  Boyce's  view  of  every 
colony  he  visited.  His  excellent  pictures  are  a  stunning  feature  of  his 
book. — New  York  Evening  Mail. 

Marked  by  a  wealth  of  anecdotes,  recital  of  personal  experiences 
and  valuable  presentation  of  historical  data. — Oregonian,  Portland,  Ore. 

Live  topics  admirably  treated  by  an  exceedingly  live  writer. — Balti- 
more (Md.)   Sun. 

A  welcome  addition  to  the  list  ui  travel  books. — Chicago  News. 

Those  who  cannot  spare  time  or  money  to  visit  the  possessions  of 
the  United  States  should  at  least  read  about  them,  and  there  is  no  better 
book  for  this  purpose  than  this  beautifully  illustrated  volume. —  I5rook!yn 
Citizen. 

Mr.  Boyce  has  rendered  public  service  in  writing  this  book. — 
Cleveland  Leader. 

He  will  be  remembered  as  the  author  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
travel  books  of  our  time. — St.  Louis  Republic. 

The  volume  contains  6U0  photographs  of  unusual  interest  which 
add  to  the  charm  and  vividness  of  the  text. — Chicago  Post. 

He  covers  all  the  points  that  are  of  value,  excluding  the  uninter- 
esting to  make  room  for  the  humor  of  situations  and  the  manifestations 
of  human  interest  that  give  an  insight  into  the  mode  of  life  and  general 
character  of  the  people. — Atlanta  Constitution. 

Compact  with  information,  rich  in  anecdote,  vivid  in  descriptidu  and 
liberally   illustrated. —  .San    I'Vancisco  Cbrduicle. 


AUSTRALIA 
NEW  ZEALAND 

(  I  L  L  U  S  T  R  A  T  i:  D  ) 

By  W.  D.  BOYCE 

None  of  Mr.  Boyce's  travel  books  has  appeared  ai  a  more 
opportune  time  than  this  interesting  rar^rd  of  his  personal 
observations  on  the  "Lonely  Continent"  and  in  the  Dominion  of 
New  Zealand.  These  outposts  of  White  Civilization  on  the  Pa- 
cific now  are  of  paramount  importance  in  international  affairs. 

Mr.  Boyce  is  at  his  best  in  this  volume,  bringing  to  it  the 
experiences  of  years  of  travel  in  all  parts  of  the  world  and 
tiie  acumen  of  a  veteran  newspaper  reporter  and  observer, 
with  an  exceptional  ability  to  select  the  human,  significant  and 
important  developments  and  currents  in  temporary  history. 
His  analysis  of  the  so-called  "radical"  legislation  in  New 
Zealand  and  Australia  is  a  sane,  impartial  appraisal  of  motives 
and  results,  of  extraordinary  interest  to  every  business  man  at 
this  time  when  economic  readjustments  are  inescapable. 

The  humor  and  keen  appreciation  of  the  human  interest 
element,  which  has  made  Mr.  Boyce  a  most  entertaining  and 
forceful  writer,  quickens  every  page. 

Hundreds  of  photographic  illustrations  add  charm  and 
educational  value  to  Mr.  Boyce's  work,  and  have  the  excep- 
tional value  of  being  distinctive  pictures. 

This  volume  is  uniform  in  size  and  makeup  with  Mr. 
Boyce's  other  travel  books  and  is  published  by  Rand,  McNally 
&  Co.,  who  have  published  all  of  the  volumes  in  the  Boyce 
Travel  Series.  It  is  the  acme  of  perfection  in  the  book- 
maker's art,  a  beautiful  and  valuable  addition  to  any  library. 

Price  $3.75.  For  Sale  by  All  Book  Dealers  and  by 

RAND,  MCNALLY  &  COMPANY 

Chicago 


W.  D.  BOYCE  CO. 

(Established   1886) 

PUBLISHER  CHICAGO 

THE  SATURDAY   BLADE 

for  more  than  thirty-six  years  has  entertained  and  informed  millions  of 
readers.  It  is  more  than  a  big  newspaper  because  of  its  exclusive  educa- 
tional features.  Every  year  it  has  an  expedition  in  some  part  of  the 
world,  gathering  new  and  curious  material.  These  descriptive  articles, 
photographs  and  first-hand  analysis  of  foreign  lands  and  peoples  are 
features  of  interest  unsurpassed  by  any  other  publication.  Liberally 
illustrated  in  colors.  The  Saturday  Blade  carries  a  message  of  healthy 
citizenship  into  millions  of  American  homes  annually.  Published  weekly. 
Subscription  price,  $2.00  a  year. 


Hume  of  the  W .  1).  Boycc  Co. 


LONE  SCOUT 

The  Real  Boys'  Maga- 
zine, is  unique  in  the 
publishing  field.  It  is  a 
magazine  "of  boys,  by 
boys  and  for  boys."  It 
is  one  of  the  most  help- 
ful influences  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Ameri- 
can boy.  W.  D.  Boyce's 
interest  in  boys  has  been 
shown  by  his  activity  in 
starting  the  Boy  Scout 
movement  in  America, 
and,  later,  in  organizing 
and  leading  The  Lone 
Scouts.  This  publication, 
issued  monthly,  is  a  clean, 
wholesome,  interest-hold- 
ing magazine  that  has  a 
great  and  intensely  loyal 
following.  Subscription 
price,  $1.00  a  year. 


THE   CHICAGO    LEDGER 

has  entertained  its  great  family  of  readers  for  more  than  half  a  century. 
It  is  a  weekly  publication  of  special  articles,  home  departments,  and 
fascinating  fiction,  v.'hich  has  and  is  molding  public  opinion  by  ])resenting 
sound  ideals  of  Justice  and  Right  in  story  form.  It  teaches  the  Dignity 
and  Nobility  of  Labor  thru  grijiping  tales  of  right-minded,  courageous 
men  and  women  in  action.  As  a  story  magazine  for  the  "great  .American 
l)lain  i)eoi)le"  the  Chicago  Ledger  is  unsur])asse(l.  It  is  handst)mely  illus- 
trated  in  colors.    Subscription  price,  $2.<)()  a  year. 


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